Adagio
by Lurkz
Summary: It was supposed to be just an assignment. Falling for the person she was supposed to protect wasn't really in the plan. But when do plans ever stay the same? Pepper/Natasha, mentioned Pepper/Tony, implied Tony/Steve
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them. Characters and such belong to Marvel.

**Author's Note:** This pairing kind of just got stuck in my brain so I had to write this. As always, many, many thanks to sithwitch for being my beta and also a huge thanks to Prof and Suaine for helping me out on this. You guys all rock. :D

Will be going up a chapter a day (14 chapters total) and then the sequel (currently being written).

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Natasha waited in Pepper's office at Stark Industries headquarters, ostensibly studying a picture hung on one wall. She stood out of sight of the door but with a clear line of sight to it. The fight against Loki had ended the previous day and Natasha had to admit, the last thing she had expected was to be back at Stark Industries trying to get her "job" back. Currently dressed comfortably in jeans, tank top, leather jacket, and boots, Natasha wasn't particularly looking forward to having to wear suits and heels again every day if this worked.

Faint footsteps reached her ears and Natasha turned, leaning comfortably against the wall as she waited for the office's owner to arrive. She heard Pepper give a few orders to her staff outside before the other woman entered, engrossed in a report and still absently listing off people her secretary needed to call. Natasha watched the secretary nod then scurry out of the office while Pepper continued to her desk. Neither woman so much as glanced in Natasha's direction.

Once Natasha was certain the door was closed completely, she spoke quietly, "Hello, Pepper." She felt a flicker of amusement when Pepper jumped and whipped around, papers flying to the ground.

Pepper stared at her for a moment but regained her composure quickly, studying Natasha in silence for several seconds. Natasha didn't move but her muscles tensed slightly in preparation for a possible getaway should Pepper decide to call the cops instead of speak to her. Finally Pepper replied, voice calm and not particularly welcoming, "Natalie. What are you doing here?"

"It's Natasha actually." Natasha cocked her head slightly. "But then, you'd already guessed Natalie wasn't my real name."

Pepper arched an eyebrow at her. "The fact that you're apparently some kind of ninja did tend to indicate you weren't who you claimed to be."

Natasha smiled faintly and tilted her head slightly in acknowledgement.

Pepper sighed and began to collect her scattered papers while she spoke, "So what are you doing in my office, Natasha?"

Natasha considered the question for a moment then pushed off the wall and strode over to help Pepper clean up. Once the papers were set on the desk she turned to the taller woman. "Perhaps I should start over. Agent Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD. I'm here to be your bodyguard."

Pepper blinked at her. "Excuse me?"

Natasha sighed and waved for Pepper to sit down, settling herself into another chair after automatically ensuring she would still have line of sight with the doorway. "You know about the Avengers. Director Fury thinks that with you as CEO of Stark Industries and with Iron Man a very visible part of the Avengers, you're likely to become a target. Well, more of one." She paused. "Particularly once your actual relationship with Stark becomes known."

"I see. And you're here to what? Follow me around and look intimidating?"

Natasha did smile at that, briefly. "Not exactly. I'm a ninja, as you put it, not a super-soldier. I would resume my cover as Natalie Rushman. As your personal assistant no one would question my presence and I would be able to protect you quickly should something happen."

"I thought you were a SHIELD agent."

"And assigned to the Avengers, yes." Natasha shrugged slightly. "It's this or being sent to God knows where every time I turn around. I'd rather stay in New York for a while, personally."

"And if I say no?"

"Then Fury will just assign someone else. Someone you don't already know and won't be able to detect."

Pepper was silent for a long moment as she considered. When she spoke, her words surprised Natasha though the spy didn't make any external indication of that fact. "Assign? As opposed to you who volunteered, huh?"

Natasha had actually half-forgotten how good at reading people Pepper was. She supposed it was a necessary skill if one was going to babysit Tony Stark. Natasha gave Pepper a grim look and stated quietly, "Better the devil you know, Pepper. You know that."

Pepper sighed and looked away. For a brief moment Natasha was afraid she was going to say no and take her chances with a different agent but the CEO of Stark Industries nodded and met her gaze again. "Fair enough, Agent Romanoff."

Natasha rose gracefully. "You can call me Tasha. Just remember to use Natalie in public at least."

Pepper nodded. She did not look happy and privately, Natasha couldn't really blame her. "I'll see you Monday, Ms. Rushman."

Inwardly Natasha winced. Oh yeah, this was going to be a fun assignment. Outwardly she cocked her head to the side curiously. "You won't be there tomorrow then?"

Pepper frowned, the ice leaving her eyes for an instant. "What's tomorrow?"

It was Natasha's turn to frown. "Coulson's surgery."

Pepper looked stunned. Her voice was faint when she asked, "What surgery?"

Natasha's eyes widened slightly. _Oh, shit._ Carefully she replied, "To replace his lung. He's been in ICU since yesterday morning."

Pepper sat back heavily, just staring at her in clear shock.

"Didn't Stark tell you?" Natasha knew it was a stupid question as soon as it left her mouth. Mentally she cursed at herself; normally she was much better at not asking stupid things.

"What happened?" The words were shaky but distinct.

Natasha hesitated for a split second before holding up a finger. "Hold on just a moment and I'll tell you." Not waiting for an acknowledgement she spun and strode to the door. Yanking it open she stalked over to the secretary's desk. Resting both hands on the top she pinned the woman with a glare.

"You will call Tony Stark right now. You will continue to call until you get through to him and you will tell him to get to Ms. Potts' office as fast as he possibly can. I don't care what he's in the middle of doing. I don't care what you're in the middle of doing. If anyone but Stark comes through that door I will personally ensure that you will regret it. Do you understand me?"

The woman nodded frantically, already reaching for the phone to dial. Natasha glared for a moment more before re-entering Pepper's office, closing the door firmly.

A quick glance showed Pepper still sitting in stunned silence, staring at Natasha like she'd never seen her before. Natasha sighed and ran a hand through her hair quickly before stepping around Pepper's desk and perching on the edge. "Pepper, look at me."

Pepper's head whipped around and she glared at Natasha. Her voice was low and angry, "What happened to Phil?"

"Loki stabbed him. Left lung," Natasha stated simply. "It was touch and go for a while, the paramedics thought they'd lost him several times. He's been on life support in an ICU ever since. They're keeping him in an artificial coma."

Pepper looked stricken, her head dropping with a soft sob, and Natasha leaned forward, consciously gentling her voice, "The docs are pretty confident they can save him, Pepper. They already have a donor lung and the best surgeons in the country will be performing the operation." She wasn't sure when her hands had ended up in Pepper's but the sudden pressure as Pepper's hands clenched convulsively startled her.

Carefully, Natasha squeezed back, unsure of what else to do. This was so far out of her realm of expertise. _Damnit, Stark, this is your job, not mine._ Still forcing herself to speak softly, Natasha said, "Pepper? Pepper, look at me." Once the other woman met her eyes, Natasha forced a small smile. "He's going to be ok. They're going to do everything they can."

The sudden crash startled them both and Natasha found herself instinctively drawing her pistols from under her jacket even as she spun to face the door.

"Natasha, it's me!"

The distinctive voice of Iron Man stopped her before she pulled the triggers. Freezing in place for a moment she let out an annoyed sigh and dropped her arms. "Next time, I'm going to shoot you, Stark." Replacing the pistols in their holsters she assessed the now splintered door. "Good thing you own this place."

Stark flipped his faceplate back, giving her a dirty look. "The secretary said it was an emergency. What's going on?"

Natasha stepped to the side, indicating Pepper with a tilt of her head. "I told her about Coulson."

"Shit. I forgot."

"So I noticed. How about you remedy the situation?"

They both looked at the upset woman still sitting at her desk only now she was glaring at Stark through her tears. "Tony, how could you forget to tell me about Phil?"

_Right, on that note…_ Natasha started for the door. She had no desire to be involved in a lovers' quarrel. Or to be around for the inevitable making up afterward.

"Natasha."

She sighed, stopping and pivoting slowly at Stark's voice. Raising an eyebrow at him questioningly, she crossed her arms and waited for him to continue.

Stark grimaced slightly but continued, "Can you bring Pepper to Stark Tower?"

"What? Why?"

Now he looked annoyed. "Because I can't get out of the suit here and I think regular clothes would be more comfortable for all involved. So, please."

_So Tony Stark does know how to say please. _Natasha nodded. "Fine. We'll meet you there."

Stark nodded and his faceplate slipped back into place. "Oh, and tell the secretary to call the cleaning and building crews."

Natasha waved a hand at him dismissively, already refocused on Pepper. To her credit the other woman had already risen and was shoving a stack of papers into her briefcase. Natasha knew better than to argue with her and so just stood quietly, waiting. She kept an eye on the door, giving anyone who looked inside too curiously a dark glare.

It only took a few minutes before Pepper indicated she was ready to leave. Natasha paced a half step behind her, automatically assessing their surroundings as they walked. As they passed the secretary's desk she paused briefly. "Call the cleaners. Call the builders. Ms. Potts is out of the office until Monday, rearrange her schedule accordingly." Once more not waiting for an acknowledgement, Natasha turned and caught back up with Pepper, following the other woman in silence the rest of the way to the garage.

After ensuring that Stark hadn't managed to get himself side-tracked on the way home or by his lab once he reached the tower and was in fact waiting for Pepper, Natasha slipped away. She paused outside the building and glanced up to where the solitary "A" still hung on the side. She shook her head with a slight smile and started to make her way back to her own apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The silence in the hospital waiting room was broken only by the occasional shuffling of feet. Even the few visitors not affiliated with the Avengers were as quiet as they could be, shooting wary looks at the assembled dangerous group. Natasha leaned against a wall off to the side where she had a clear view of the entire room and a majority of the entrances. Clint was approximately opposite her, keeping an eye on the vulnerable points that she couldn't see. Occasionally they exchanged grim glances before resuming their silent surveillance.

Thor was standing not far from Natasha, one arm around Jane and his other around Darcy. Clint had filled Natasha in on the New Mexico assignment and she'd taken the time to study both women upon meeting them this morning. They wouldn't be much use in a fight, but if Jane could actually keep Thor calm, Natasha was more than happy to have her around. And she whole-heartedly approved of Darcy's attachment to her Taser.

Natasha flicked a glance towards where Rogers and Banner stood near the hallway leading to the surgery suite. Rogers looked uncharacteristically grim and she knew he was still furious with Fury for making the team think Coulson was dead. She couldn't really say as she blamed him. Though she understood the ploy, even agreed with it, it had been somewhat of a kick in the gut to find out Coulson was actually in ICU and still alive, if barely.

She moved on to study Stark who was standing with Pepper in a corner near Clint. Stark looked rather uncomfortable, looking around frequently while tapping away on a Stark Industries tablet. Natasha was actually rather surprised he was being as quiet as he was though she suspected a lot of that had to do with the woman at his side. Pepper was gazing into space looking very grim but surprisingly dry-eyed. The respect Natasha had gained for her during her first foray into working at Stark Industries rose. Given Stark's usual taste in women, she was rather surprised he had actually managed to hook up with Pepper. _Not that he deserves her._

Shaking the thought away, Natasha met Clint's eyes again and shook her head minutely before beginning another assessment of the non-Avengers affiliated civilians in the waiting room. A few shot curious looks at her as she scanned the room but looked away quickly when they met her gaze. Natasha smiled to herself; it really was almost humorous how intimidated people were by the group even when they didn't know who any of them were, with the possible exception of Stark/Iron Man.

The elevator opened and her gaze snapped to it as she tensed automatically. When Director Fury and Agent Hill stepped out she relaxed slightly but straightened as they approached her.

"Agent Romanoff, any news?" Fury asked quietly.

"None yet, sir."

He glanced around, gaze lingering slightly longer on Stark as he asked, "And any problems out here?"

Natasha shook her head. "It's been quiet."

He looked about to speak again when Natasha caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning slightly, she directed Fury's attention to the doctor that had just stepped into the room.

"Nicholas Fury?"

Fury stepped forward. "I'm Nick Fury, doctor."

"Right, if you'll just step over here with me, I can update you on Mr. Coulson's condition." The doctor looked up as he spoke and Natasha saw his eyes widen as he took in the sight of the large group that had immediately gathered behind Fury. She could sense Thor right behind her and a flickering glance to either side showed Rogers to her right and Clint beyond Hill on the left. The doctor looked hesitant as he said, "I'm sorry, family or designated agent only."

Fury merely raised an eyebrow and said, "I believe anything you have to say about Agent Coulson can be said in front of all of us."

The doctor appeared about to protest and Natasha felt the tension in the room ratchet upward. He hesitated and after another glance around the group, swallowed and nodded. "Of course."

The group moved en masse to a corner of the waiting room, automatically forming a solid wall of muscle between the doctor and the rest of the room and effectively blocking anything he would say from prying eyes and ears. Natasha dropped into place on one side of the group angling her body outward, noting absently that Clint had done so on the opposite side and Hill had fallen to the back of the group, facing the rest of the room. She kept her ears tuned to the doctor's voice even as her eyes continued to scan the room, silently warning anyone from getting too close.

The doctor began to speak behind her, his voice pitched just loud enough that the entire group could hear but the words wouldn't travel much beyond their area. "Mr. Coulson came through surgery just fine. He's currently in the post-op recovery room and we'll be moving him to ICU shortly. We expect him to stay in ICU for about five days pending the status of his recovery. He'll need to remain in the hospital for at least a week after moving from ICU, again pending his progress. Currently we are cautiously optimistic but we won't have a better prognosis until we see how well his body accepts the new lung."

The entire group seemed to give a sigh of relief though there was no sound. Natasha felt the knot within her ease slightly though she kept tight control over her emotions, both internally and externally.

"Thank you, doctor," Fury said.

"Do you have any questions, Mr. Fury?"

There was a short silence behind her. Natasha guessed Fury was checking to see if any of the group had questions before responding. After a moment she heard his voice, "None right now, doctor."

"Very well. You can begin to visit him tomorrow, no more than two visitors at a time. If you do have any questions please feel notify the nurses' station and a doctor will be summoned."

Natasha felt the group behind her shift and stepped to one side, turning as she did so. She met the surprised gaze of the doctor, one hand raised as if to tap on her shoulder. She quirked an eyebrow at him and he gave her a clearly forced smile, awkwardly lowering his hand and scurrying away from the group. The corner of her lips twitched in the faintest hint of a laugh.

"Ok, people. You heard the doctor. If I hear of any of you so much as breathing too loud while visiting Agent Coulson, trust me, you will not be happy to hear from me."

Natasha glanced over at Fury, amused to find him glaring at Stark who was giving his best _why are you looking at me?_ innocent look. He was very good at that look, not that anyone bought it for a second.

"Right, well if we're done here." Stark had apparently given up trying to convince Fury of his innocence through sheer willpower and was now speaking at his usual breakneck pace. "I have a press conference to attend."

"A press conference?" Fury's eyes narrowed. "What press conference?"

Natasha frowned slightly, flicking a glance at Pepper who looked equally confused.

Stark just flashed a grin. "You'll see! But, I'm going to be late so, bye now!"

"Stark…" Fury practically growled his name but Stark ignored him as usual.

"Coming, Pepper? Good!" He grabbed Pepper's hand and practically dragged her to the elevator, throwing a few final words over his shoulder, "Don't wait up, dad!"

Fury sighed. "Agent Romanoff?"

Natasha grimaced but replied calmly, "On it." She caught a sympathetic look from Clint as she passed him, heading for the next elevator.

* * *

Pepper turned to Tony the moment the elevator doors had slid shut. "What press conference?"

"It's a surprise. A good one though. You'll like it. At least, I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Yeah, you'll like it."

"Tony!"

He grinned at her. "Yes, Pepper?"

"What. Press. Conference." She glared at him.

"Trust me." He suddenly looked as serious as she'd ever seen him.

Pepper narrowed her eyes slightly, studying him intently for a long moment. Finally she nodded. "Ok. But Tony, if you pull another 'I'm completely changing the direction of my company' press conference…"

"I'm not, I promise. Just… trust me."

Pepper sighed. It wasn't that she didn't _trust_ Tony; ok it _was_ that she didn't trust Tony, but she knew he (usually) had the best of intentions. Tony resumed working on his tablet and Pepper waited for the elevator to reach the first floor. Idly she wondered if Fury was going to chase Tony down for walking out like that. _No, he'll probably send someone else. Like Natalie… Natasha._ Pepper sighed again, she couldn't even be mad at Fury for it; she knew better than anyone just how close an eye you had to keep on Tony Stark.

The elevator opened and Tony strolled out, not even bothering to look up. Pepper shook her head slightly with a slight smile, resigned to keeping Tony from running into walls until they got to the car.

Tony was surprisingly silent for nearly the entire ride to the press conference site. Pepper scanned email as they drove, occasionally glancing at Tony who seemed thoroughly engrossed in his own tablet. She really hoped he knew what he was doing or, if he didn't, it would be easy to clean up. Happy had barely stopped the car before Tony bounded out, not bothering to wait for either of them. Muttering in annoyance, Pepper hurried after him waving for Happy to wait at the car.

Tony was already trotting up the stairs to the stage set up in front of Stark Tower when Pepper caught up to him. Shaking her head slightly, she snagged the PR rep who was trying to slip off stage. Pinning the young man with a glare, she asked, "What's this about?"

He shook his head, looking genuinely confused. "I don't know, ma'am. We just got word from him an hour ago that he wanted a press conference set up. No info on the topic."

Pepper sighed. "Of course not. Fine, you can go." She watched him hurry away before resuming her path to the top of the stage where Tony was beginning to speak. She took her place next to Tony, automatically pasting on a fake smile for the press.

Pepper studied the crowd. Most of the usual reporters were there, looking extremely confused and curious. As Pepper glanced over the crowd she caught a glimpse of red hair and a black jacket. Narrowing her eyes slightly she briefly met the gaze of Natasha. The SHIELD agent raised an eyebrow at her slightly before their line of sight was blocked by a reporter. Pepper wasn't surprised to see that Natasha had vanished once the reporter shifted out of the way again. She tried to ignore the feeling of safety that settled over her just knowing the agent was in the crowd.

Refocusing her attention on Tony's words, she couldn't help but turn to him in stunned surprise.

"And so, that is why I am personally offering an award of ten million dollars to the first researcher, group, or company that can develop working artificial lungs for transplants. Should those lungs prove to be effective for at least as long as current transplants I will award a further five million. This is the future, ladies and gentlemen; we should start acting like it."

There was complete silence in the crowd for several moments before pandemonium broke out. Tony simply smiled, threw up a peace sign, and waltzed off the stage. The voices that had been calling out "Mr. Stark!" abruptly switched to "Ms. Potts!"

Pepper forced a smile and stepped up to the microphone briefly. "Neither Mr. Stark nor I are entertaining any questions about this matter. Everything you need to know will be in the press release and details will also be posted on the Stark Industries website. Thank you."

With that she turned and hurried after Tony, ignoring the workers moving past her to dismantle the stage. Pepper entered the elevator, tapping her code in and asking JARVIS to take her to Tony's workshop. Stepping off the elevator she found Tony exactly where she expected him, sitting at his workbench already engrossed in a holographic model of… something and with music blaring.

"Tony."

He didn't even twitch.

"JARVIS, mute the music."

The music cut off and the sudden silence had Tony jerking his head up, an outraged look on his face. "Hey! I was listening to that!"

"Tony, are you going to tell me what that was?"

"What what was?" He seemed genuinely puzzled.

"The press conference!"

He frowned. "I thought you'd be pleased."

"I am, but—"

"So what's the big deal? JARVIS! Music, please." Tony turned back to his hologram, immediately engrossed in fiddling with it once more.

Pepper watched him for a moment before rolling her eyes and walking back out of the workshop. At least this time he hadn't made sweeping changes to the corporate fundamentals.


	3. Chapter 3

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Natasha walked purposefully through the Stark Industries headquarters building. A few people looked like they wanted to stop her but they all decided against it upon getting a good look at her face. She was early compared to when she knew the bulk of the employees arrived, but she also knew Pepper was probably already in her office.

Striding past the currently empty desks outside Pepper's office, Natasha paused outside the office door. Mentally she slid back into the cover of Natalie Rushman before pushing the door open and slipping inside. As Natasha had guessed, Pepper was already behind her desk typing at her computer. She glanced up at Natasha entered then looked back at her screen wordlessly.

Natasha sighed soundlessly; maybe she _was_ crazy for volunteering for this. Pepper had clearly not forgiven her for infiltrating Stark Industries the first time around. Her voice was perfectly calm when she spoke, however. "Ms. Potts."

"Ms. Rushman." Pepper didn't look back up as she acknowledged the greeting.

"Should I set up at my old desk?"

"Someone already works there."

Natasha's lips tightened for a moment. None of her annoyance came out in her expression or tone though. "Ms. Potts… Pepper." She waited for Pepper to finally look at her again. "You have to at least try to work with me." Natasha paused for a moment then continued, "It's my job. I can do it if you don't cooperate but it will be a lot more comfortable for both of us if you do."

Pepper met her gaze steadily for several seconds. Finally the other woman nodded slightly. "Fine. Take your old desk. I'll send the other woman over to work for Tony; he needs another new assistant."

Natasha arched an eyebrow, commenting wryly, "You hate your current PA that much?"

Pepper cracked the faintest of smiles before turning back to her computer. "That'll be all, Ms. Rushman."

Natasha inclined her head slightly, murmuring, "Of course, Ms. Potts." She pivoted neatly on her heel and strode back into the outer office. Setting her bag down at what was once again her desk, Natasha got to work, falling back into the flow as if she'd never left. When the secretary arrived she ignored the wary look the other woman gave her and continued the process of figuring out exactly what the now ex-PA had been doing.

The rest of the day passed quietly. Natasha found it almost absurdly easy to fall back into the routine at Stark Industries, particularly without Stark acting crazier than usual. There was a brief moment of amusement when Happy arrived to pick up Pepper at the end of the day and caught sight of Natasha following her out of the building. Natasha met his wide eyes and smirked slightly, arching an eyebrow at him in challenge.

He blocked her from following Pepper into the car and hissed, "What are you doing here?"

Natasha left the smirk in place and merely said, "I work for Ms. Potts, Mr. Hogan."

He snorted in clear disbelief but didn't have a chance to say anything further as Pepper spoke from behind him.

"Happy, let her get in the car, please."

Natasha hid her smile as she leaned around Happy to direct her words at Pepper. "It's fine. I'd rather walk anyway. See you tomorrow, Ms. Potts."

Pepper didn't protest but nodded slightly in acknowledgement of the words. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Rushman."

It was several weeks before Pepper called Natasha anything other than "Ms. Rushman." The time had gone quickly and quietly with the exception of a small altercation with an attempted mugger. The man had found himself rather rapidly disarmed and unconscious before he could actually finish threatening Natasha and Pepper. The rest of the time Natasha distracted herself from the annoyances of her assignment with extensive workouts, visits to a slowly convalescing Coulson, and convincing herself it didn't matter what Pepper called her because this was just an assignment.

Two weeks after the attempted mugging, and while Pepper and Natasha were conveniently in New York on Stark Industries business, Natasha and the other Avengers were called out to fight off a wannabe super-villain. The fight didn't take very long, mostly involving explosions and a rather hilariously clumsy guy in a metal suit. Unfortunately for the "villain," his suit was no match for Iron Man and his robot minions were rather overmatched by the rest of the Avengers. Which was why, barely two hours after she'd slipped out to meet the others, Natasha found herself slipping back into Stark Industries.

Stopping briefly at her desk, Natasha grabbed the folders that had been delivered for Pepper's approval while she was out. Ignoring the secretary's attempts to demand where she had vanished to, Natasha strode inside Pepper's office.

"Ms. Potts, the budget reports from the R&D department are here for your approval."

Natasha was already halfway across the room to Pepper's desk when the other woman looked up and suddenly leapt out of her chair. Dropping the folders to the floor, Natasha spun to confront what she assumed was a sudden threat behind her. She stopped and stared at the still closed door and empty office in bafflement. Frowning in confusion, Natasha began to turn back toward Pepper only to find her chin suddenly gripped firmly in the taller woman's hand.

Natasha barely restrained herself from violently forcing the other woman away and froze instead, eyes wide.

Pepper glared at her. "What happened?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're injured. What happened?"

"Oh, that." Natasha gently pulled her head away and stepped back. "Nothing major. Just some idiot with a bunch of exploding robots."

"Explosions? This was from an explosion?"

Natasha cocked her head slightly. "Pepper, you know what my job is."

"That doesn't mean you're supposed to get blown up, Natasha!"

Natasha blinked at the sudden use of her name. She was about to speak but Pepper steamrolled right over her.

"Did you even bother to see a doctor afterward? Of course you didn't. Because apparently superheroes don't need doctors. You're all going to be the death of me."

"I've had worse, Pepper." Natasha tried for a placating tone and realized an instant too late it was the wrong move.

Pepper's glare intensified and she pointed at one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Sit!" She continued to glare until Natasha had done as ordered before heading to one of the cabinets in a corner. Natasha watched, bemused, as Pepper pulled out what was clearly an industrial sized first aid kit. Pepper hauled the kit back to her desk and opened it up, rummaging for a moment while Natasha waited patiently.

Pepper set a few things out on the desk then straightened back up, turning to Natasha. Natasha arched an eyebrow at her but remained silent, not entirely sure what was going on. Pepper frowned, grabbing Natasha's chin more gently and turning her head slightly to the side. "Don't move."

Natasha began to nod then stopped and simply said, "Ok."

Pepper sighed and began to gently clean the gash on Natasha's cheek. "What is it with superheroes and not knowing when to duck? Tony is no better."

Natasha ignored the slight pang at being reminded Pepper was with Stark and opted for a slight shrug, careful to keep her head still. "I did duck."

"Obviously not fast enough."

Natasha smiled faintly.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Pepper was carefully applying a pair of butterfly bandages to the cut.

"No." At Pepper's arched eyebrow, Natasha smiled more fully. "I promise."

Pepper seemed slightly skeptical but nodded. As she replaced the supplies in the kit, Pepper asked, "So what happened? And why didn't you have someone look at that?"

Natasha shrugged slightly. "Idiot with a suit and some robots. Robots were rigged to explode when they took a certain amount of damage. Piece of flying shrapnel caught me. And I didn't see a doctor because, as I said, I've had worse."

Pepper eyed her then shook her head, muttering as she turned her attention to closing the kit, "Superheroes."

Natasha reached out and caught Pepper's wrist, causing the other woman to look at her in confusion. Natasha met her gaze seriously. "I'm not a superhero."

Pepper met her gaze steadily for a long moment then finally spoke softly, "Fine, but next time, promise you'll actually get medical attention, Tasha."

Natasha gave her a half-smile. "Promise." She released Pepper's wrist, watching for a second as the other woman continued on to the cabinet to put the first aid kit away. _What the hell was that?_ Sighing to herself, Natasha began to gather up the dropped folders.

* * *

Pepper waited for the door to close behind Natasha before she slumped back into her chair briefly. _You're overreacting, Pepper. And why? She's a spy, remember? Surely she can take care of herself._

Exactly, Natasha was a spy. A spy who had infiltrated Stark Industries once before and now was using it as her cover _again_. So why did Pepper care so much about what had happened to her?

_It's just because she's on Tony's team and obviously a friend of Phil. That's it._

To be fair, Natasha had done a great job as her PA. And there was the time with Hammer. And that mugger. And of course the whole incident with Loki. Pepper had gleaned at least a basic understanding of all that Natasha had done during that incident from listening to Tony ramble about things he really shouldn't be rambling about.

Pepper turned to her computer and opened the browser, pulling up all the news sites she could think of. She spent the next several minutes reading through the currently updating articles on the recent attack on New York. After several minutes she sighed and closed the browser.

"'Nothing major' she says. Because armies of robots are just a minor annoyance," Pepper muttered. She supposed they were, at least for people like the Avengers, but still, did they _have_ to act so blasé about it? Of course, Natasha was pretty blasé about a lot of things so maybe it wasn't so surprising.

Pepper suddenly had another thought. "Oh hell." Slapping the intercom button she called out, "Natalie? Can you come in here for a moment?" She didn't even register that she had switched from calling Natasha only "Ms. Rushman."

Natasha appeared at the door almost immediately, face mostly expressionless as usual except for a cocked eyebrow. The small bandages on her cheek somehow just made her look more dangerous. "Yes, Ms. Potts?"

Pepper waved her inside. Natasha frowned slightly but fully entered the office and closed the door firmly behind her. "What's going on, Pepper?"

"Please tell me Tony didn't take exploding robots home with him."

Natasha's expression didn't change but Pepper was suddenly positive the other woman was trying not to laugh. "Ah, not that I noticed."

Pepper sighed, dropping her head for a moment. "While I trust that you're very observant… can you please verify that for me? Tony excels at doing things he shouldn't and I really don't want to deal with the paperwork if he blows up Stark Tower."

"Of course." Natasha gave her a small nod and left. Pepper spent a brief moment marveling at how silent the SHIELD agent was when she wanted to be before returning to her paperwork.

A few minutes later her email dinged with a new message from Natasha. The note was short.

_Stark claims he only took non-explosive parts. You may want to increase the insurance._

_-N_

Pepper could practically hear the dry tone of the last comment and couldn't help but chuckle. She did, however, immediately pick up the phone and do just that before calling Tony.

"Pepper! I was just thinking about you! Well, actually I was wondering why I just got a notification that the insurance amount for Stark Tower had gone up. And also why my new PA just ran out of here looking rather terrified. You would think she'd never seen scorched armor before or something. Or maybe it was Steve she was afraid of."

Pepper sighed. "Tony, why do you have exploding robots?"

"Exploding robots? Who said I have exploding robots? I expressly selected the non-exploding parts of the robots. And how did you know I have robots anyway?"

"Tony."

"Natasha told you, didn't she? You know, it's supremely unfair that you have a spy. I should have a spy. Can I fire her? Or maybe you could order her to come work for me instead? I could use a sexy Russian bodyguard spy."

"Tony, you're not going to fire her. And no, you can't have her. She would kill you inside five seconds."

"See, I don't get that. I have it on very good authority that I'm a very charming man." His voice became distant. "Dummy, stop trying to give that to Steve. He doesn't want it. No, Dummy, Steve isn't on fire either. Pepper? Gotta go." The connection cut off immediately.

Pepper sighed in resignation and hung up. There was no point in calling him back right away; he would either not answer or answer just long enough to say he couldn't talk. At least Steve was apparently with Tony. If Captain America couldn't prevent Tony from blowing himself and his building up, no one could.


	4. Chapter 4

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Natasha stepped off the Stark Tower elevator and glanced around interestedly at the ongoing reconstruction. According to Pepper, Stark had decided that the battle damage was the perfect excuse to remodel the building before it had even been fully completed in the first place. The floor she had just arrived on was intended to be offices for both Stark and Pepper and appeared to be mostly complete.

Rolling her eyes at the rather blatant paintings of the three CEOs of Stark Industries that were hanging on the wall opposite the elevators, Natasha strode down the hall. As she followed the directions Pepper had given her, she automatically studied each workman she ran across, mentally cataloguing and ranking each as a potential threat. Each one glanced at her as she passed but looked away rapidly, none meeting her eyes for longer than a few seconds. Internally she smirked though outwardly she maintained her icy demeanor.

Slipping into Pepper's second office, she met the other woman's smile with a quick one of her own. In the weeks since the Robot Incident (as Pepper called it given the explosion that had inevitably demolished part of Stark's lab the very next day), Pepper's attitude toward Natasha had relaxed.

"Good morning, Tasha."

"Morning." Natasha set down the tray of coffee cups in her hand and nodded toward it. "You look like you can use some caffeine."

"_Thank_ you." Pepper's smile widened briefly and she immediately reached for the cup labeled with her name in Natasha's neat handwriting.

Natasha chuckled and sat in front of the desk, retrieving her own cup. "That bad already, huh?"

"You have no idea."

Natasha arched an eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips.

Pepper laughed. "Ok, ok, you do have an idea."

"A bit," she admitted. "So, why are we in New York today instead of L.A.?"

"Because Tony refuses to leave the Tower." Pepper sighed exasperatedly.

Natasha gave a short laugh. "Of course he does. Is he actually going to attend the Board meeting if it's held here?"

"I threatened him with you if he doesn't."

Natasha stared for a moment then laughed. That was definitely not the response she was expecting. "I'm sure he was thrilled with that."

"Thrilled is one word for it."

Natasha smirked. She knew exactly what Pepper was implying and it didn't surprise her at all. "In his dreams."

"Oh God, Tasha, please don't say that!" Pepper looked pained but also amused.

Natasha gave her an unrepentant smile.

Pepper gave her a wry smile. "I almost think I preferred it when you were actually pretending to be a quiet, reserved girl from legal in private as well as in public."

"The quiet, reserved girl that threw Happy on his ass within five minutes of meeting him?" Natasha asked dryly.

Pepper laughed softly. "Touché." She was about to say more when the office door opened.

Both women looked at the door. Natasha felt her muscles tense instinctively, just in case it was someone who shouldn't be in the office. Casually she placed her coffee cup on the desk and prepared to stand before recognizing the distinctive stride of Tony Stark.

Pepper spoke first, "Tony, what are you doing in here?"

"Ah, I own the building. At least, I thought I did. Hello, Gi—"

"Stark, if you call me that one more time, it is not going to be pretty." Natasha glared over her shoulder at him, settling back into her chair and retrieving her coffee.

He flashed her a broad grin. "Of course, Agent Romanoff."

Natasha rolled her eyes at him and directed her next words to the man following Stark through the door. "Morning, Cap."

Steve smiled at her and Pepper. "Good morning, Natasha. Miss Potts."

"Good morning, Steve. And it's Pepper, remember?" Pepper replied and Natasha could hear the warmth in Pepper's voice. She wasn't surprised; Steve brought that out in people, even when they didn't know him.

Steve blushed slightly and Natasha secretly conceded it was pretty adorable. "Right, Pepper."

Natasha figured it was a good thing Clint wasn't here as it was inevitable that he would tease Steve about his old-fashioned manners. She adjusted her chair so she could watch Stark and Steve approach Pepper's desk while also keeping Pepper in her line of sight. She glanced briefly back at Pepper who had now fixed Stark with a resigned expression.

"What are you doing up here, Tony? I know it's not so you can prepare for the Board meeting."

"Of course not. Is that coffee?"

"Yes, mine." Natasha suppressed a smile at the inflexible tone Pepper used before arching an eyebrow in warning at Stark when he shifted his attention from Pepper's coffee to her own.

He gave an exaggerated sigh and practically collapsed into the other chair. "Fine."

There was an awkward silence while everyone stared at Stark who gazed aimlessly out the window. Natasha met Steve's gaze for a minute, giving him a questioning look which he responded to with a shrug and clearly puzzled expression.

Finally Pepper sighed in annoyance and asked, "Tony, what are you doing up here?"

"Oh, right!" He seemed to suddenly remember that he was actually in Pepper's office and Natasha rolled her eyes. It was something she found herself doing a lot around Tony Stark, actually.

"Right, so I had a thought," he continued. "Well, I have a lot of thoughts, but this one's relevant to you. And I think you'll like it, or, well, I hope you'll like it. So you know how we were talking about you running the company from California and me being here and the whole Malibu house thing, which, for the record, totally needed to be remodeled anyway?"

"Yes," Pepper drew the word out hesitantly. Natasha had a feeling she knew where this is going and she had to admit, she wouldn't mind.

"Well, Stark Tower has plenty of space after all so… we can move headquarters here. But only part of it! Like, the administrative part! Not everything else!"

Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Tony, we just moved it to L.A. nine months ago!"

"Yeah, well, I changed my mind."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why? I just did."

Natasha exchanged glances with Steve but they both remained prudently silent.

"Sure you did."

Tony shrugged slightly and gave her an innocent look. "It makes sense, doesn't it? And it will be easier than flying back and forth."

"Tony, you don't fly back and forth. I do that."

"Exactly!" He looked at Pepper like she'd just solved the mysteries of the universe.

Pepper studied him for a long moment then sighed. "Fine, we'll move the administration of Stark Industries back to New York."

"Yes! That's great! Ok, now that we've solved that, Steve and I have uh… stuff, in the workshop!" Stark bounded out of his chair, heading for the door. "Come on, Steve, I really want to show you the modifications I'm making to the Ferrari."

"Don't forget the Board meeting!"

That stopped Stark in his tracks right before the door. He looked back at Pepper, looking like nothing so much as a two year old just told he has to eat all his vegetables. "Aw, Pep, do I have to?"

"Yes."

"But—"

"_Yes_, Tony. Or I _will_ have Natasha bring you by force."

Stark looked between Pepper's glare and Natasha's slight smirk and huffed a sigh. "_Fine_. But it's not because I'm afraid of you, Ginger Spice!"

Natasha's smirk transformed into a glower and she started from her chair.

Stark smirked at her and ducked out the door. "Gotta go!"

Steve looked at her apologetically. "I'll ask him to stop… again."

Natasha sighed and relaxed, waving a hand in resignation. "Don't bother, Cap. It'll just make him do it more often."

He considered that for a moment then nodded. "If you say so, Natasha. I will see you both later." With a boyish smile, he followed Stark out of the office.

She turned back to Pepper after the door was closed to find the other woman trying very hard not to laugh. Natasha sighed. "What?"

"You let him call you 'Ginger Spice'?"

"Let isn't really the right word, Pepper."

Pepper sobered though her lips still twitched slightly with a suppressed smile. "That's Tony for you."

"Unfortunately." Natasha smiled slightly to soften the word as she stood. "I'm going to go make sure the conference room is ready. Let me know if I need to knock some sense into Stark."


	5. Chapter 5

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

**A/N:** Just want to say thanks for all the story alerts and favorites. :) Hope everyone continues to enjoy it!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Three weeks later they had mostly finished transitioning the administrative headquarters of Stark Industries from Los Angeles to New York City. The rest of Stark Tower was still undergoing its combination reconstruction and remodeling. The new offices were rather nice. The downside was the much more frequent presence of Tony Stark. To Natasha's amusement, Steve seemed to be a pretty common fixture in the Tower as well.

Shaking off her ruminations, Natasha strode passed the now familiar portraits in the headquarters lobby. She frowned as she entered Pepper's outer office. Automatically she slowed slightly, studying the young woman hovering next to her desk. Natasha recognized her from the current SHIELD training class: Kelly Beckwith, decent at hand to hand, excellent shot. The young woman was dressed impeccably, an understated briefcase and purse resting at her feet. A swift perusal showed Kelly's weight was balanced well enough to allow the woman to move relatively easily into combat if needed.

Natasha spoke quietly as she approached, "Trainee Beckwith, what can I do for you?"

Kelly spun, expression betraying mild surprise at seeing Natasha. Natasha frowned in disapproval at the young woman and Kelly appeared to shrink slightly at the expression. "I, uh… Agent Romanoff, Agent Hill sent me to, um, replace you?"

Natasha arched an eyebrow derisively. "I'm aware. But you don't sound terribly certain. Are _you_ aware that Agent Hill also assigned me as your final training evaluator?"

"Uh, yes, ma'am."

Natasha sighed and pointed to a nearby chair. "Sit." Natasha took her own seat and studied the trainee emotionlessly for a long moment. She watched in mild approval as Kelly started to fidget then immediately regained control of herself and met Natasha's gaze mostly steadily.

Finally Natasha broke the silence. "If you expect to be able to do this job, you need to be a lot more confident when answering questions, even if you don't already know the answer. And if you expect to do _this_ job," she said, waving her hand to indicate the office, "then you need to find a lot more self-confidence in general.

"The fact that I am also an agent should not have meant I was able to sneak up on you. Particularly given that I wasn't even trying to do so. I know situational awareness is emphasized in training and if you want to pass this evaluation you had better do a better job at it."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now, why are you here?"

Kelly looked confused. "To replace you."

"I know that. Why are you here, _now_?" Natasha pinned the trainee with a glare, daring the other woman to repeat herself again.

Kelly swallowed and offered up a slight grimace, clearly aware of how asinine her statement had been. "Agent Hill didn't give me the details, ma'am. She just told me to show up this week instead of next week."

"I see." Frowning faintly, Natasha pulled out her phone, logging into the secure SHIELD server and checking her messages. Sure enough, there was a brief email from Agent Hill instructing her to report to the carrier no later than five pm that day. "Shit," she muttered.

Natasha swiftly logged into her desktop computer, ignoring the woman now watching her in puzzlement. After confirming that no one had decided to change Pepper's schedule for the day, Natasha looked back at Kelly. "I trust you've been briefed on the assignment?"

"Yes."

"Good, then le—" Natasha cut herself off abruptly as the office doors opened and Pepper walked in, a full hour earlier than expected.

Pepper paused just inside the door, glancing from Natasha to Kelly. One eyebrow arched and she looked at Natasha questioningly. The usual welcoming smile that Pepper had begun bestowing on Natasha after the Robot Incident was nowhere in sight.

"Good morning, Ms. Potts." Natasha's own expression slipped into perfect neutrality as she met Pepper's gaze evenly. She carefully concealed all surprise and annoyance behind her long since perfected façade.

"Ms. Rushman." Pepper began striding toward her office. "May I see you in my office, please?"

Natasha cursed mentally. Pepper was _not_ happy. She pinned Kelly with a glare. "Stay here. If the phone rings, take a message."

The trainee nodded rapidly. Taking a moment to calm herself, Natasha rose gracefully and strode into Pepper's office, closing the door firmly behind her.

Inside she paused, cocking her head slightly as she studied Pepper. Pepper studied her in turn. After several silent moments, Pepper asked quietly, "Why is there a SHIELD agent in my outer office, Natasha?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise, making her way to the chairs in front of Pepper's desk. "How did you know she's a SHIELD agent?"

"I've been around you long enough to tell she's not just an office flunky. And if she wasn't SHIELD, she would have been unconscious or dead. So what's going on?"

"Trainee Beckwith was sent by Agent Hill to…" Natasha paused.

"To replace you." It wasn't a question. Natasha watched as Pepper's expression closed off even further.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"You already knew she would be coming."

"I did."

"For how long?"

"I've known since the beginning this wouldn't be a permanent, or even necessarily a long term, assignment."

"I see." Pepper's voice was cold and Natasha winced internally.

"Pepper, you had to know Fury wasn't going to assign me here forever."

"So you were just going to what? Leave and let the new girl explain it?"

"Of course not."

"Don't lie to me!" Pepper was furious now. "I am neither stupid nor blind. I saw your reaction when I walked in, Agent Romanoff, before you hid it behind that perfect mask."

"Pepper…" Natasha ignored the hurt at being suddenly relegated back to "Agent Romanoff" instead of "Natasha."

"I thought I could trust you."

"You can!"

"Can I? Tony's bad enough with the never telling me anything. I wasn't really expecting it from you."

Natasha felt like she'd been kicked in the gut but ruthlessly shoved the feeling down, refusing to let it show. She stood, forcing herself to appear perfectly calm. Despite that, she couldn't quite keep the bite out of her tone. "Do not compare me to Tony Stark, Pepper. I was going to tell you."

Pepper just glared. "Of course you were."

"Pepper—"

"Just go. Send your replacement in and just… leave."

Natasha stood frozen for a long moment then nodded curtly. "Her name is Kelly. You'll have to ask her what her cover is." With that, Natasha spun on her heel and left.

She barely glanced at Kelly as she leaned over her keyboard, typing rapidly. "Ms. Potts wants to see you."

She didn't look up from her work as Kelly stood and hurried into Pepper's office. Finished purging what few personal details were stored in the computer, Natasha swiftly logged out then back in under the administration account she'd long since hacked. It was the work of a few minutes to wipe all traces of Natalie Rushman's files and account details, leaving only the bare minimum information in the system to prevent suspicion. Logging out a last time, Natasha glanced at the door to Pepper's office. With a silent sigh, she straightened and walked out.

* * *

Clint was sprawled on her couch when Natasha walked into her new apartment. She ignored him as she walked past him to change out of her suit. She heard him follow her but he didn't say anything, just leaned against the doorframe to her bedroom and waited patiently. She had finished changing into civilian clothes and was in the process of transferring her uniform and weapons from the bag she'd been carrying to Stark Industries back into their usual spot in her black duffel when he finally spoke.

"What's going on, Nat?"

"New assignment."

"You know that's not what I meant. Come on, Nat, talk to me."

She zipped the bag shut and stood quietly for a moment, hands resting lightly on top of it while she studied them. After a moment she glanced up, meeting his gaze. Her voice was quiet as she replied, choosing her words carefully. "Ms. Potts is upset that I did not inform her sooner that I was being reassigned."

He frowned slightly, narrowing his eyes at her. "I didn't think you were notified of the reassignment until yesterday."

Natasha didn't bother to ask him how he knew that. "I wasn't but… Trainee Beckwith showed up today."

Clint looked surprised. "I thought the changeover was next week." And really, she should've guessed he'd know that too.

Natasha grimaced, slinging the duffel over one shoulder and walking back out of the room. "Yeah, so did I."

"So I take it Ms. Potts wasn't thrilled to find Beckwith there."

"Understatement."

Natasha waited for Clint to follow her out of the apartment before locking it behind him. The pair fell into step as they made their way to the first floor and out of Natasha's apartment building.

"So, what now?" Clint asked as they strolled casually down the block.

"She told me to leave. Figured I would just head in early."

"Fair enough." He was quiet for a second and she knew he'd picked up on the emotions she'd left unsaid. Then he shot her a grin. "You want me to talk to her while you're gone? I could pass her notes and try to convince her I have a great friend she should really meet."

Natasha chuckled, nudging him with her elbow. "For one, we aren't in high school. Well, maybe _you_ are. For another, she's with Stark remember? I have flaws but stealing a teammate's girlfriend isn't one of them, you ass."

Clint laughed and nudged her back. "Oh fine, ruin all my plans. Here I am, trying to help you out and you mock me for it. I'm wounded, Nat, truly."

She snorted. "You are not." She shot him a smile, voice warmer than usual. "But, thanks, Clint."

"Anytime."

He accompanied her the rest of the way to the nearest SHIELD satellite office, occasionally exchanging quips. At the door to the nondescript office he stopped her briefly with a hand on her shoulder. Natasha gave him a questioning look.

"Be careful, Nat." He suddenly grinned and added, "I'd hate to have to train a new Avenger."

Natasha rolled her eyes at him but smiled. "You be careful too, Clint. After all, we need our comic relief." She deftly dodged his mostly playful punch and ducked inside, laughing softly.

* * *

Pepper watched the new agent enter her office. As the young woman walked over to stand in front of Pepper's desk, Pepper couldn't help but compare her to Natasha. Kelly was a few inches taller than Natasha and didn't possess the deadly aura that Natasha seemed to exude without even trying. But even to Pepper's inexperienced eye she could tell the agent wasn't someone most people would want to tangle with.

_Tasha could take her in a heartbeat._ Forcing the thought away, Pepper asked, "So what should I call you?" The other woman hesitated and Pepper sighed in annoyance. "Agent Romanoff already told me who you are. I just need to know what Stark Industries has your name listed as."

Kelly clearly didn't have Natasha's experience in hiding her emotions. Surprise was clear for a moment before she was able to control it. "Kerry Beckett, Ms. Potts."

"Fine, Ms. Beckett. You know what you're supposed to do?"

"Um, Agent Hill gave me a brief, yes."

Pepper narrowed her eyes slightly. "Not Agent Romanoff?"

"No… she hasn't had a chance." Kelly hesitated again.

Pepper nearly growled in frustration and bit out, "What is it?"

"Um…"

"Look, just tell me. If you don't, trust me, I can find out some other way."

Kelly shrugged slightly. "Ok then. Agent Romanoff just found out about the switch yesterday and the timeline got moved up this morning. She hasn't had a chance to brief me yet."

Pepper was quiet for several seconds. "When were you supposed to be here?"

"Next week."

Pepper nodded slightly. "That's all for now, Ms. Beckett."

Kelly nodded in return and left but not before giving Pepper a puzzled glance. Pepper merely arched an eyebrow at her, expression perfectly bland. As the woman slipped out of the office, Pepper looked past her and noted that Natasha was already gone.

With a sigh, Pepper booted up her computer mulling over both Natasha and Kelly's words as she logged in. Natasha had implied that she'd known about the reassignment for a while but if Kelly was telling the truth, then Natasha had known for less than 24 hours. _Be fair, Pepper, you accused her of knowing and not telling you and she just didn't disagree._

Forcing herself to stop dwelling, Pepper dove into her work. It was easy enough to lose herself in the running of Stark Industries particularly given Tony had dropped off some random bit of technology at the R&D lab with a short note of "figure out how we can use this." Pepper was startled out of perusing reports by a short knock on the door followed by Kelly poking her head inside.

"Ms. Potts?"

"Yes, Ms. Beckett?"

"Fifteen minutes until your lunch meeting. Mr. Hogan is waiting with the car."

Pepper frowned in confusion. She didn't have a lunch meeting. Did she? She turned to her computer, replying absently, "Thank you, Ms. Beckett."

Distantly she heard the door close but she was already engrossed in studying her schedule. When she'd left on Friday her Monday had been mostly clear, now there was a two hour block scheduled in the middle of the day.

"What the…?" She pulled up the details and stared in shock for nearly a full minute. The event had been scheduled just after nine am the previous day by Natasha. The typed words in the event note almost seemed accusing.

_Just got some news. Need to tell you about it. Know you'll read this in the morning, probably before I have a chance to talk to you, so consider this your warning that we're having lunch. –N_

"Damn it." Pepper grabbed her cell phone and scrolled through the contacts to the cell phone number Natasha had given her in case she ever needed to reach the agent after hours. Hitting the call button, she waited impatiently for the line to connect. Pepper blinked in surprise when the call went straight to voicemail.

Frowning, she lowered the phone slowly. Her first thought was that Natasha was ignoring her but she dismissed the idea as soon as it had formed. Pepper was confident that Natasha would never ignore her call, even without being officially assigned as her bodyguard anymore. Besides, the spy's phone was clearly off and not just being ignored.

After a moment of thought, Pepper called Phil's number.

"Coulson."

"Phil, it's Pepper." Pepper couldn't help but smile. She'd only talked to Phil a few times since he'd been out of the hospital but both he and Natasha had kept her apprised of his condition.

"What can I do for you, Pepper?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

"Do you know where Agent Romanoff is?"

"I… do, but I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

Pepper nodded to herself with a silent sigh. She'd been expecting that answer but had hoped maybe she was wrong. "I understand. Thanks, Phil."

Phil was silent then asked, "Are you asking on a personal or professional level, Pepper?"

Pepper hesitated before answering. "Personal."

"Try Barton. I'll have him contact you."

"Thanks, Phil." She smiled slightly. "I'm sorry I don't really have the time to chat right now. We'll have to get together for lunch soon."

"I'd like that. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." She hung up the phone and stared into space until the phone buzzed with an incoming call.

Glancing at the screen she smiled slightly at the number that Tony's phone tech had automatically hacked and displayed beneath the blandly glowing "BLOCKED". She should have guessed Phil would follow through on his promise immediately.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Potts?"

"Agent Barton. Call me Pepper, please."

The man at the other end of the call chuckled. "Sure, if you call me Clint. Coulson said you needed to talk to me?"

Pepper considered how to phrase her request for a moment before opting for just blurting it out. "Do you know where Natasha is?"

"Ah." He was silent for so long Pepper double checked to make sure the call hadn't disconnected. Finally he continued. "I can't actually tell you where she is. Partly because it's classified and partly because I don't actually know."

"Do you know when she'll be back?"

"She didn't say."

Pepper sighed, closing her eyes briefly in frustration.

"I have to ask… why are you trying to find her?"

Pepper grimaced. She didn't know exactly how close Clint and Natasha were or had been, but she did know he was the one Natasha talked to the most on the Avengers. "I… need to apologize."

"I see. She's going to kill me for telling you this but I think you need to know. She was pretty upset that you didn't give her the chance to explain about the reassignment."

"She told you that?" Pepper was surprised.

Clint laughed. "Hell no. But I've known Nat for a long time."

Pepper smiled slightly; his laugh was infectious. "It was a mistake. But thanks for telling me. I won't tell her you told me, if you don't tell her I called you."

She could practically hear the grin through the phone. "Deal. Listen, if you need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call. I'm sure Stark's fancy toys can get my number for you if you don't have it already."

Pepper laughed but didn't reply.

"I thought so." He chuckled. "I'll let you know if I hear anything from Nat but don't hold your breath. She's usually pretty incommunicado when she's out on a mission."

"Thanks, Clint."

"No problem."

After exchanging goodbyes with Clint, Pepper dropped the phone on her desk and tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. _What the hell is wrong with you? Natasha wasn't wrong; you _knew_ she would leave eventually, Pepper. So why the hell do you care so much that it was now?_ She had a bad feeling the next several days were going to be very stressful and tried to tell herself it was because of work and had absolutely nothing to do with the vanished Natasha Romanoff.


	6. Chapter 6

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Natasha stepped out of Grand Central Station and paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. For all she had been born in Russia, she definitely preferred New York; though, she was heartily wishing she'd taken SHIELD transport instead of opting for commercial. Wearily pushing her hair back, she trotted down the steps and began making her way towards the apartment she hadn't seen in over a month. She steadfastly ignored Stark Tower looming overhead as she moved past.

She had only walked a couple blocks when her phone rang. Sighing, she pulled it out, glancing briefly at the caller ID. "Romanoff."

"Agent Romanoff, we need you to get to Stark Tower immediately."

Natasha frowned, already retracing her steps. "What? Why?"

"There's been an attack. Perpetrator is assumed to be Justin Hammer, or someone close to him. Everyone else is already in Northern Manhattan fending off the primary attack."

_Pepper_. She broke into a jog. "I'm on it." Hanging up the phone she sped up into a run, dodging around confused pedestrians.

It only took a few minutes for her to reach the Stark Tower parking garage. Swiftly entering her credentials, which SHIELD had ensured stayed active, she dodged inside the second the door unlocked. Looking around she spotted Happy leaning against Pepper's usual car and jogged over.

Happy glanced over as she approached and straightened, giving her a wary look. He never had really gotten comfortable with her presence after the Stark Expo events. Ignoring his discomfort, Natasha stopped a few feet away, scanning the surroundings closely. She didn't look at him as she asked, "Have there been any problems?"

"What do you care? You've been gone a while, Natalie… Natasha… whatever."

Natasha paused in her assessment of the area to glare at him, mildly gratified to see him pale slightly. "Look, I don't care what your personal issues with me are. Right now, I'm concerned with making sure nothing has happened, or does happen, to Pepper." She dropped her duffel to the ground and began pulling out a shoulder harness.

He straightened. "What do you mean? I thought she had another one of you people with her? Kerry?"

"She does. Not important right now. What is important is that Hammer flunkies are attacking Manhattan. Now, has anything happened?"

He swallowed at the look on her face and shook his head. "No, nothing."

"Good. When is she due down?"

"Any minute."

"You will get her in the car and take her straight home. I don't care if she has other plans. I don't care if you're all about to pass out from starvation and need drive-through. You will get her home in the fastest time humanly possible, got it?" Shoulder harness donned and jacket pulled back over it, she pulled out one of her Glocks and slid a fresh magazine in place.

Happy nodded, his face having settled into a deadly serious expression.

"If Kerry is with her, you keep it that way, understand me?"

"Got it. What are you going to do?"

Natasha smiled grimly, chambering her pistol and flicking the safety off. Tucking the weapon into the shoulder harness, along with a couple of spare magazines, she said, "Keep an eye on things." Zipping the duffel shut once more, she tossed it at Happy. "Hold on to this for me, will you?"

She didn't stick around to hear his reply before vanishing into the slowly deepening shadows of the parking garage. Once out of sight, Natasha activated the tiny receiver she'd also pulled from her bag and tucked it into her ear. It was already keyed to the Avengers' standard frequency and almost immediately she began to hear soft chatter from the others.

Natasha worked her way through the immediate area around the car. The garage was, fortunately, fairly well lit, making it difficult for anyone to hide. Anyone with less experience than her or Clint that is. After a few minutes, confident that the boys had the bulk of the attack well under control, she tapped the receiver, switching it to the frequency of the transmitter she'd long ago implanted into all of her major belongings including her duffel.

"… is that?" Pepper's voice came through loud and clear, sounding a little annoyed and a lot puzzled.

"That… is a standard issue SHIELD duffel bag," Kelly replied. Natasha sighed quietly but figured it had really been too much to hope for that Pepper would never find out she was in the vicinity. It might as well be sooner rather than later.

"And where did it come from?"

"Uh…" Happy clearly didn't want to answer the question.

"I'm guessing Agent Romanoff." Kelly's voice sounded somewhat amused. Mentally Natasha complimented the trainee for coming to the right conclusion, even if it was a fairly obvious one.

"Natasha?" Pepper asked sharply.

"Can you both please just get in the car?" Happy pleaded.

"Happy, answer the question."

Natasha moved to where she could see the trio, though she was still outside of regular earshot. Pepper looked annoyed but… relieved? Natasha couldn't really be sure from this distance and the rest of her gear was in the bag Happy was currently holding as though it might explode at any minute.

"Can I answer it after you _please_ get in the car?" Happy tried to herd the two women into the back seat and Natasha smiled faintly, still periodically scanning the area for threats.

Finally Pepper entered the car followed by Kelly. Natasha relaxed slightly and, once she'd watched Happy toss her bag into the trunk and get in the car himself, began making her way to the garage entrance. Cutting through the cars allowed her to reach the entrance just as the car did. She watched from the shadows as Happy carefully merged with traffic.

Natasha had just begun jogging down the sidewalk, careful to keep the car in sight while remaining far enough away to be virtually invisible herself, when suddenly her earpiece sounded with voices again.

"So, Happy, we're in the car. Answer the question."

Natasha fancied she could hear Happy's sigh at Pepper's demand and smiled to herself.

"Yes, it was Natalie, uh, Natasha." He sounded rather resigned.

There was more silence for a moment. Natasha increased her pace, studying the crowds intently. She fully expected the attack to come once Happy actually reached Pepper's apartment building and not before but she'd be dead before she stopped being paranoid.

"Where is she now?" Natasha cocked her head unconsciously as if it could better help her interpret the tone of Pepper's voice.

"No idea. She just said she'd be keeping an eye on things and vanished."

Tapping her earpiece again, Natasha switched back to the Avengers' frequency. The fight sounded like it was still going strong and she didn't bother to break into the ongoing conversation.

"Look, just because Widow's not here to watch your ass is no reason to slack off, Katniss."

"Bite me, Tin Man."

"Only if you ask nicely."

Natasha chuckled softly as she jogged. Mentally she counted down 3… 2…

"Can it, both of you. We have more important things to focus on." And there was Steve as expected. "Hawkeye, focus on that group coming down Broadway. Iron Man, keep them from branching off. Thor?"

"Yes, Captain?"

Natasha could hear the grim smile in Steve's voice, "Show the idiots on Amsterdam how well their choice of weapons conducts electricity. Hulk and I have the center."

She continued half listening to the chatter as the fight wound down. They were nearing Pepper's apartment and Natasha felt her alertness increase. If there was going to be a direct attack on Pepper, this would be the time. Sure enough, as the car began to slow down in front of the apartment building, Natasha caught sight of at least half a dozen men starting to close a noose around the entrance.

She let herself lapse into concentration, pushing all extraneous thoughts and emotions to the side. She didn't particularly need the weapon she had; her past had made sure she _was_ the weapon and right now, she was more than ok with that. Utterly silent, she moved up behind the closest man. Her eyes were completely flat as she reached out with both hands and snapped his neck.

Not sparing a glance or a thought for the man she'd just killed she continued moving around the circle, methodically taking out each goon with fists and the occasional kick. After the first few went down the rest seemed to realize they were being stalked. Natasha spared a brief moment of concentration to ensure that Happy got Pepper and Kelly inside the building before refocusing on the men that were now trying to stalk her.

She smiled dangerously as she came face to face with the next man. He tried to level his pistol but barely got it level before she'd stepped past, grabbing his wrist and breaking his elbow with a punch. He didn't have time to make a sound before her continuing twist had brought her other elbow around and into his throat. Finishing him off with a swift kick to the head, Natasha moved on. At her last count, the three biggest were left.

Unfortunately, she wasn't faster than bullets (or immune to them like some people) and one clipped her left arm as she dodged from one piece of cover to another. Cursing mentally in Russian, she ignored the wound for the moment and began working her way in the direction the shot had come from. Apparently the bad guys had finally decided to try out this coordination concept. It wouldn't save them but it would make her job more annoying.

Mentally snorting in disgust as she practically stumbled across one of the idiots that was "lying in wait" for her, she silently pulled out her own pistol and shot him cleanly in the back of the head before moving on. Two to go. And likely the two most intelligent.

She moved swiftly away from the area where she'd shot the man, confident the other two would start closing in on the spot. Her smile was dark as she ducked around a corner, keeping an eye on the site of the last man. It was only moments before the next victim appeared. This one actually had his gun ready and seemed to be fairly alert. He was definitely in shape and carried himself in a manner that indicated he had at least some unarmed combat training. Natasha assessed him for a moment before moving to the next piece of cover, gaze moving restlessly as she searched for the other guy.

_Probably the leader of this group or at least the lieutenant. Perfect._ She stayed in hiding, watching and waiting, knowing the second man would be along shortly. She didn't have to wait long. Another man, this one appearing slightly more competent than the first, started moving out from a location nearly 180 degrees from the first. _Smart. But not smart enough. The leader then._

She was about to line up her two shots when a soft sound alerted her. Glancing sharply to the side she spotted a third man. This one was huge, clearly more hired muscle than anything else. Unfortunately for her, he was also in a perfect position to close in on her as soon as she revealed herself.

Evaluating the situation, and resigning herself to what was bound to be at least a headache, Natasha leveled her weapon at the first of the three men. Two shots later and she forced herself to go limp in preparation for the blow that smashed into her side almost as soon as the second shot went off. As she flew through the air, she twisted, landing heavily on her back and skidding.

She rolled immediately, bounding up into a crouch. The man was already charging and she met him with a snap-kick. As he stumbled backward she pulled up her gun, quickly snapping off two shots to his chest followed by one to the head. He dropped like a rock as the three bullet holes appeared nearly simultaneously.

Natasha swiftly reloaded the Glock and kept her gun ready as she moved away from the site. No one else appeared and after a moment she turned off her receiver and pulled out her cell phone, calling for SHIELD clean-up of the site.

The SHIELD agents appeared within a few minutes and Natasha left them to their work. One attempted to speak to her but a glare from her and a sharp nudge from one of his fellows had him giving her a sickly smile instead and turning back to his work. Natasha ignored him as she walked away. The new ones always seemed to think she'd want to speak to them after an incident.

Loitering in the doorway of a nearby building, Natasha absently studied Pepper's apartment building while she called Happy to retrieve her gear.

"Hello?"

"I need my gear back, Hogan."

There was a short pause before he answered. "Pepper has it."

Natasha frowned but answered emotionlessly, "Fine." She hung up, now studying Pepper's apartment building more intently. She knew the other woman lived on the top floor, at the insistence of Stark. It was a secure building complete with 24/7 doorman.

Natasha smiled slightly, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes for just a second. Pulling out her phone, she quickly pulled up the building schematics. After studying them for a few minutes she tucked the phone away and double checked the security of the few items she carried with her. Satisfied nothing was going to fall out, she moved on to inspecting her injuries. None of them were severe, but her first aid kit was tucked away with the rest of her gear. _Figures._ _Then again…_ She smiled to herself. _Pepper did want me to get medical care "next time."_

It was easy enough to bypass the alarm on one of the ground floor windows, using the small set of tools she always kept on her, and slipped inside. Resetting the security, Natasha casually strolled to the stairs and made her way rapidly to the top floor. She paused at the top of the stairwell, considering. It was highly possible that Kelly was linked into the building security. Actually, Natasha revised that thought; Kelly _had better be_ linked into building security.

So the next question was whether to test her trainee or not bother and just get to Pepper. A shift in weight had her wincing slightly as her jacket tugged at the wounds that it was starting to stick to. Right, first aid was more important at the moment. But, that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun.


	7. Chapter 7

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

With a smirk, Natasha bypassed the door from to the hallway and continued up to the roof, picking the lock with ease. Outside she paused, before moving quickly to the edge of the roof that should be right above Pepper's balcony. Peering over the side, she noted with approval that the plans she had studied were accurate. There was very soft light coming from the balcony doors, and Natasha nodded to herself. Kelly must have at least ensured the doors were covered with a curtain, or that interior lighting was kept to a minimum.

Natasha dropped lightly onto the balcony railing, studying the balcony itself for any traps Kelly might have set. Satisfied there were none, and somewhat disappointed, she hopped down on to the balcony proper. A quick study of the door found a simple, but generally effective trip wire. A minute's work disarmed the wire and Natasha casually picked the lock, slipping inside silently.

Once inside, she closed the door silently behind her and leaned back against it, arms crossed. One eyebrow rose as she studied the room. The light had been coming from an end table lamp and the television which was currently softly playing the news. Pepper was sitting on the couch, watching the TV intently. Kelly was nowhere to be seen.

Natasha frowned and scanned the room. If the trainee had left already… A soft sound came from her right and Natasha peeked around the corner into the dining room, finding Kelly inspecting the windows. _Ah, verifying security. Fair enough._

Dropping back into her usual public persona, Natasha commented quietly, voice and face emotionless, "Lesson one, it's more effective to booby-trap the balcony itself and not just the door."

Behind her, Pepper screamed a little in startlement. Kelly whirled around; her hand grabbing her pistol in the same motion. Natasha didn't move a muscle, merely arching an eyebrow in response.

Kelly cursed quietly when she recognized Natasha, holstering her gun with slightly more force than necessary. "Noted."

Natasha nodded slightly. "You're dismissed, Ms. Beckwith."

Kelly seemed about to protest but Natasha raised an eyebrow at her, expression hardening minutely. The younger woman grimaced slightly but nodded. "Right." She moved past Natasha, giving the senior agent as wide a berth as possible.

Natasha smirked internally; sometimes it was nice to have a reputation. Outwardly she merely watched impassively as Kelly gathered her briefcase and wished Pepper a goodnight. Natasha followed her to the door on silent feet, making no response to the quiet "Goodnight, Agent Romanoff" that Kelly wished her on her way out the door. After double checking that the door was locked securely behind Kelly, Natasha turned back to the apartment, unsurprised to find Pepper standing a short distance away gazing at her in horror.

She cocked her head slightly. "Hello, Pepper."

"What happened?" Pepper demanded.

Natasha shrugged slightly. "Got knocked around a bit. I just need my gear."

"Your _gear_? You need a _doctor_!"

"I have a first aid kit in my bag," Natasha said patiently.

Pepper scoffed. Pointing to the couch she ordered "sit" before vanishing to somewhere else in the apartment.

Natasha allowed herself a bemused smile as she wandered back out of the foyer into the living room. Instead of sitting, she wandered around the room, studying Pepper's décor. On a shelf near the TV a few framed photos were perched. Moving closer, Natasha flicked her glance over the one of Pepper and Tony, then one of people she assumed were Pepper's family. Her gaze stopped on the next one and she relaxed slightly, smiling faintly.

She clearly remembered the occasion. Stark had somehow convinced Fury to have a SHIELD company picnic for the Fourth of July (neither Stark nor Fury would say how he managed it). The photographer had managed to capture one of the more amusing moments from the Picnic Incident; of course it was from before the picnic had turned into the Picnic Incident.

They had all just finished eating, with the exception of Thor who was still sharing dessert with Jane, the pair sharing ridiculously sappy smiles. Steve and Stark were in the background, Stark trying to climb onto Steve's back to retrieve the Frisbee that Steve was holding out of reach while they both laughed. Clint was perched in a tree, laughing down at Darcy who was trying to climb up after him given he had pick-pocketed her iPod from her. Banner was actually laughing, hands out, ready to catch the Frisbee from Steve while Coulson looked on in amusement.

Her gaze settled on the last two people in the photo, herself and Pepper. They had their heads tilted together, almost touching while they watched the boys. Natasha vividly remembered the laugh they had been sharing over the antics of the others.

She heard a step behind her and turned, forcing herself to give Pepper a slight smile. Pepper was carrying a first aid kit that bore a strong resemblance to the one she kept in her office and Natasha couldn't help but be amused. Pepper set the kit down and moved next to Natasha.

They studied each other for a long moment before Pepper smiled ruefully. "I thought I told you to sit."

Natasha felt herself relaxing even further. "I don't listen well sometimes; ask Barton."

Pepper sighed but it sounded more amused than annoyed. "Of course you don't." She looked past Natasha at the pictures. Smiling, she nodded at the one Natasha had been studying. "That day was crazy."

Natasha turned back to the photo with a small smile. "A bit."

"A bit? Thor nearly blew up Central Park! And the cops tried to arrest Steve for intoxication when he told them who you all were!"

Natasha chuckled. A part of her mind noted how much more often she did things like smile or laugh around Pepper and filed the information away with the other Observations To Never Be Acted On. "They _were_ rather offended by Clint threatening them with a bow made of sticks and arrows topped with plastic knives weren't they?"

"I'd almost forgotten that."

They were silent for a moment, both gazing at the photo. A week after it had been taken, Natasha had been reassigned from Stark Industries. Natasha wondered if Pepper was remembering that fact as well.

Eventually Pepper moved back toward where she'd set down the first aid kit. "Come here."

Natasha complied, waiting quietly.

Pepper looked up from where she was rummaging through the kit. "Well come on. Jacket. Shirt."

Natasha hesitated. "Look, Pepper… if you just give me my gear, I'll get out of here."

Pepper gave her a look like she was insane for even suggesting that.

Natasha sighed in resignation and tugged off the jacket, wincing slightly as the leather tugged on the wounds, having gotten completely stuck to them by now. Draping the jacket over the arm of the couch, she removed her shoulder harness and then tugged off both the tank-top and bra she was wearing beneath it. Modesty was something she'd left behind, by necessity, long ago. Tossing the rest of the items on top of her jacket, she turned her back to Pepper, anticipating the next order.

She heard the soft gasp Pepper gave upon seeing the scratches across her back. Or possibly it was a reaction to the scattering of scars, Natasha wasn't positive. She forced herself to control her reaction as Pepper began gently cleaning the cuts. Standing stock still, she mentally distanced herself from the pain of the antiseptic and began instead mentally reviewing her recent mission.

After a short period of silence, Pepper spoke, asking quietly, "So why didn't you see a doctor this time?"

Natasha refocused on her current surroundings. "Because I knew the injuries weren't that serious. I've had extensive experience patching myself up, Pepper." She paused and suddenly grinned briefly. "Besides, I knew you were nearby and you did tell me you wanted me to get medical help the next time."

"I didn't mean from me!"

Natasha shrugged. "I was planning on just getting my gear and leaving. This was your idea," she pointed out.

"There's not much more I can do for your back unless you want it swaddled in gauze. You couldn't have performed proper first aid on your own back."

"Please don't. I know, I would have asked Clint." Natasha was amused by the parallel conversations.

"Turn so I can see your arm better. At least you accept that you might need the occasional help." After Natasha complied, Pepper continued, with what Natasha could tell was forced casualness, "I tried to call you."

"I know. Why?"

"To apologize."

"What for?" Natasha turned a puzzled gaze on Pepper, careful not to move her arm.

Pepper met her gaze briefly before returning to gently cleaning the gunshot graze. "For jumping to conclusions. What happened here? This isn't just from getting thrown around."

"Gunshot. And… apology accepted though you don't need to."

"Of course I do. I didn't let you explain, it's entirely my fault."

Natasha looked away again, uncomfortable. "No it's not. Don't worry about it."

"Natasha…"

"Pepper. Just… apology accepted, ok?" Natasha still didn't look at the other woman, focusing instead on the Monet hanging on the opposite wall.

"Fine." Pepper sighed. "Are you sure you don't need a doctor for this? Gunshots can't be good."

Natasha looked down at the wound, relieved at the change in subject. "Yeah, it's fine. Just a graze." She gave Pepper a quick smile. "You're doing more for it than I would have."

Pepper grimaced. "That's not very comforting."

Natasha's lips quirked slightly and she resumed her study of the room. A gentle touch at her side had her flinching away suddenly, putting several feet between herself and a very startled looking Pepper in barely a second.

"Sorry, Tasha." Pepper's eyes were wide.

"Um… no problem, just… not without warning next time, ok?" Natasha forced herself to relax again, her entire body having immediately tensed up at the sudden touch. It was just fortunate she hadn't tried to take Pepper's head off at the same time, her reflexes having at least recognized that there wasn't an actual threat even as they responded to the surprise.

"Sorry," Pepper repeated. She waved vaguely at Natasha's side. "I was just… what happened?"

Natasha glanced down at the wound in her left side, neatly stitched and partially healed. "Stab wound."

"A _stab_ wound?"

She raised an eyebrow. "It's not the first time."

Pepper sighed. "The fact that you are so dismissive of this sort of thing gives me hives."

Natasha blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?" Why on Earth would her injuries, and reactions to them, bother Pepper? Or affect her in any way? She moved back toward the couch, grabbing up her clothes and pulling them back on.

"Uh… nothing." Pepper blushed slightly though it was hard to see in the low light.

Natasha studied her for a moment but let the subject lie. She pulled back on her shoulder harness and settled the jacket back over it.

"I should probably get going. Do you have my gear?" Natasha shifted her shoulders uncomfortably. She wasn't used to this sort of casual interaction, at least not without there being an ulterior motive or the other person being Clint.

"Oh, right." Pepper shook her head slightly. "Ms. Beckett – Kelly – put it in the second bedroom. I'll just—"

Natasha waved her off. "I'll grab it."

Pepper nodded, turning her attention to the first aid kit while Natasha moved to the other room to grab her gear bag. A swift check ensured everything was still exactly as she'd packed it. Slinging it over one shoulder, she stepped back out into the living room. Pepper was waiting for her, staring sightlessly at the TV.

"Pepper?"

The other woman jumped slightly and turned to her. "Sorry, I was just wondering how Tony was." She waved at the TV which was currently broadcasting a recap of the fight in northern Manhattan from earlier. Whoever had filmed the footage had apparently taken great delight in trying to zoom in on each Avenger as much and as often as possible.

"I didn't hear any chatter than anyone was injured, but I can double check that if you'd like."

"You were listening?" Pepper looked surprised for a moment then shook her head with a soft laugh. "What am I saying? Of course you were. And I'd appreciate that."

Natasha nodded slightly, trying and failing to force a smile. She pulled out her phone and swiftly logged into the SHIELD server, pulling up the most recent event report. "No injuries reported."

"Thank you, Tasha."

"No problem." Natasha managed to give a small smile. "Thanks for the first aid."

Pepper smiled back, eyes gentle. "Anytime, Agent Romanoff." And this time, it didn't sound like the other woman was trying to distance herself from Natasha with the title.


	8. Chapter 8

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Natasha had just left the building when her cell rang. Glancing at the caller ID she sighed. Stark. For a brief moment she considered not answering but dismissed it quickly. He'd just call back endlessly until she either answered or destroyed her phone. And if she did that, he'd just find some other way to pester her.

"What do you want, Stark?"

"It's delightful to hear your voice again as well, Natasha. How was your vacation?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Wow, no time for small talk at all, huh? Fine, I can do that. You need to come to the Tower."

"Why?"

"It's a surprise."

"A surprise from you? I think I'll pass."

"What? No, seriously, I need you to come down here! It's nothing bad, I promise."

"I don't trust you."

His voice got distant, clearly talking to someone else. "She's not going for it. … No, I don't know why! … Why will she listen to you? … Oh fine."

"Natasha?" Steve's voice suddenly filled the line.

"Hello, Steve."

"Welcome home." She could hear the warm smile in his voice. "Did everything go alright? Are you ok?"

She smiled faintly. "Thanks, fine, and fine. What's going on?"

"Tony has a surprise."

"So he said."

"It's not a bad one. I promise. You'll like it."

Natasha sighed. If Steve was vouching for the "surprise" at least she could be fairly confident it wouldn't explode in her face… literally. And it also was something that Steve thought she'd like. Of course last time he'd thought she'd like something she'd ended up with _Titanic_ on Blu-ray. She hadn't had the heart to tell him she hated the movie.

"Fine, but, Cap? If it blows up, I'm holding you responsible."

She politely waited just long enough for his slightly hesitant acknowledgement before hanging up. Glancing around, she readjusted her bag and began making her way back toward Grand Central and Stark Tower which loomed above it.

She deliberately walked slowly, mulling over the events of the evening, particularly Pepper's continuing insistence on her receiving first aid. She had to admit, she wasn't exactly upset by it but still, it was odd. The last person who'd tried to fuss over her had been Clint and that had lasted for exactly twenty seconds before she'd punched him. He hadn't ever tried again.

Even at a slow pace it didn't take Natasha long to reach the Tower. Taking a deep breath and bracing herself for whatever insanity Stark intended to surprise her with, she entered the lobby. The guard at the desk looked up and smiled.

"Ah, Ms. Romanoff, Mr. Stark said to clear you straight up on the private elevator." He indicated a discrete doorway to one side.

She nodded slightly, walking silently past him to the door. Behind it was a smaller foyer with another pair of security guards. The foyer was nondescript, surprising for Stark, and opened out on to the street through what she knew for a fact was labeled as a maintenance door on the outside. A single gleaming elevator stood at the other end. The elevator opened soundlessly as she approached and she entered warily.

As soon as the doors had closed a disembodied voice spoke, the British accent almost soothing, "Welcome back, Agent Romanoff."

"Thanks, JARVIS. What's this surprise?"

"Mr. Stark has forbidden me to tell you. I'm sorry."

Natasha fancied that the AI sounded genuinely regretful. "Thanks anyway, JARVIS." She watched the numbers climb for a few moments. "What floor are we going to?"

"Mr. Stark is waiting for you on the fifty-seventh floor."

Natasha raised an eyebrow slightly; everything relating to Stark Industries was on the forty-sixth floor and below. Everything above that was blocked off for Stark's personal use, though Natasha couldn't fathom what he needed thirteen floors for. Up until now she'd figured she didn't want to know.

The doors opened smoothly on a floor that was clearly intended to act as an apartment. Looking around carefully, Natasha stepped out of the elevator, dropping her bag to the floor quietly. Faintly she heard JARVIS' voice from another room announcing, "Sir, Agent Romanoff is here."

Almost immediately Stark appeared at the doorway of one of the rooms leading off the main open area. "Ginger Spice!"

Without blinking, she pulled out a pocket knife, flipping it open and at Stark in the same motion. He dove for the floor, looking rather startled. The knife embedded itself cleanly in the doorjamb behind where his head had been.

"Next time you call me that, it won't be at a speed you can avoid, Stark."

He climbed slowly to his feet, looking rather put-out. "Fine. Fine. Has anyone ever told you that you have no sense of humor?"

"Many times. Now why am I here?"

"You know… I'm not really sure I want to tell you anymore."

"Fine." Natasha turned and grabbed her bag, intent on getting back in the elevator.

"I told you you should stop calling her that." Steve's voice sounded amused.

"Ok, ok! Natasha, wait."

Sighing in resignation, Natasha dropped the bag again and turned back around. Steve had appeared in the doorway and was looking at Tony, seeming to be a cross between amused and annoyed. Her knife was in his hand.

She crossed her arms and stared evenly at Stark, waiting for his elaboration.

"Ugh, stop looking at me like that." He began to pace. "So, after Loki, it occurred to me that the whole situation would have been a lot worse if we'd been spread out. I mean, we were all in one spot and it was easy to kind of hop into things, well, except for Hulk. Although I guess technically he _did_ hop into things at one point. Or onto things."

"Stark."

"Right. So, it occurred to me that being co-located was handy. And well, Steve here was still staying in a SHIELD provided apartment. Which, ew."

Natasha arched an eyebrow.

Stark didn't notice and kept rambling. "I mean, who wants to live in an apartment provided by a shadowy government agency? Besides, they have absolutely _no_ taste in décor. I mean, did you ever see Steve's apartment? Terrible. Colors clashing everywhere and not a single computer interface or widescreen TV.

"But anyway, as you might have noticed, the Tower's rather large. Even if there _are_ nosy employees running around half of it. Reconfiguring the security has been a bitch."

"Stark!"

He cut off in midsentence and looked her. "Yes, dear?"

She ignored the quip. "Get to the point."

"If you insist."

Natasha saw Steve rolling his eyes at the back of Stark's head and quirked her lips slightly at him. Apparently she wasn't the only one that he prompted that response in. Of course, Steve was also smiling fondly at Stark and that was definitely not a response he prompted in her.

"So, what I'm saying," he continued, "is that there's a bunch of space here. And I've remodeled the top thirteen floors into a sort of mini apartment complex. So…" He stopped pacing and waved his arms expansively. "This one is yours."

"Excuse me?" Natasha blinked in surprise. _I can't possibly have heard that right._

"This is your floor. I tried to take into account things you'd want. Open floor plan. As few exterior weak points as possible. Minimal extra walls for people to hide behind. Easy access into the ducts. That one was Pepper's idea. Best security system I could devise. That sort of thing."

Natasha stared at him for a long moment. "Did you just ask me to move in?"

"No! Well, yes, but not like that! Just, um… into this floor! It'll be your own apartment. You can block the elevator from accessing it, lock the stairwell door, all that sort of thing. Total privacy if you want it.

"Everyone else has their own floor too. And there're two common floors. Gyms, bigger kitchen, bar, home theater, all the comforts of home. You don't even need a keycard or something silly. JARVIS provides the recognition and security but even if he's down everything is biometric so as long as there's power you'll be able to access everything. And of course there are redundant backup generators if the power does somehow go out. Or get taken out, that being far more likely."

"Right." She fell silent again, turning over the idea in her mind. It certainly was nicer than her current apartment. And the security would be nice, plus there was the location. Of course, the downside was living in the same building as everyone else but she figured she could cope with that, especially if Stark was telling the truth about being able to lockdown her floor.

Stark was still rambling in the background, extolling the virtues of moving into the Tower but she'd tuned him out. Finally she shrugged slightly. "Fine."

"… and there's – what?"

"I said fine." She paused. "And thanks… Tony."

"Oh! Great!" He suddenly turned a bright smile on her. She glanced away, studying the room. It was moments like this where she could see what Pepper saw in him and it wasn't fun. Steve was laughing softly at Tony's ramblings and she glimpsed him putting a hand firmly on Tony's shoulder.

"Come on, Tony. Let's leave Natasha alone."

"Sure, sure. Oh, and whenever you want to have your stuff moved in, just let JARVIS know and he'll get the movers all set up."

Natasha raised an eyebrow. As if she would ever let random movers touch her belongings. Steve caught the expression and just shrugged at her, apparently reading her thoughts clearly.

The pair of men started moving toward the elevator. Natasha waited until they had stepped inside before she spoke again, "Oh, and Tony, next time, tell your girlfriend yourself that you're not injured. I'm not your messenger pigeon."

JARVIS took that opportunity to slide the doors closed before Tony could do more than look at her in confusion. She knew he would very shortly start questioning why she had been talking to Pepper. But now that he was gone…

"JARVIS?"

"Yes, Agent Romanoff."

"Seal off the floor, please. No one allowed access without my permission." Sure, Stark could easily get around that but she had hopes that Steve would distract him long enough that he would get himself distracted by his electronics.

"Of course. Floor sealed off. Shall I test the security system and set the alarm?"

"Yes. Thanks."

"You're welcome, Agent Romanoff."

Natasha laughed softly, relaxing. "You can call me Natasha, JARVIS."

"I am not programmed to be that familiar with humans, Agent Romanoff."

"Then at least drop the 'agent' part." While they conversed, she started wandering through the apartment.

"As you wish, Ms. Romanoff."

Natasha sighed but let the subject drop; it was better than nothing at least. The "apartment" was huge. She was pretty sure the master bedroom was at least half the size of her entire current, now former, apartment, much less the attached bathroom. There was also a small kitchenette and breakfast nook off the other side of the living room, right next to an "office" that was easily the size of most people's master bedrooms. And of course, the entire thing was already furnished. Stark… Tony… had surprisingly good taste.

After unpacking her duffel into the ridiculously large, and almost eerily empty, closet and drawers, Natasha wandered back out into the living room. She wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed and sleep for twelve hours but first, she had a call to make.

Tapping Pepper's name on the touchscreen she waited for the call to connect. Pepper answered almost immediately, sounding alarmed, "Natasha? Is something wrong?"

"Well… that depends."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you know about this?"

"About what? Tasha, you have to be a bit more descriptive than that."

"Stark called me. About a surprise."

There was a short silence then, "Oh! The apartments in Stark Tower?"

"So you did know."

"It was a surprise, Tasha," Pepper pointed out.

"I don't really have the greatest track record with surprises, Pepper."

"Do you really think I'd let Tony give you a surprise that you wouldn't like?"

Natasha was silent for a moment then smiled. "No. But neither do I trust Tony to tell you about all the surprises he has planned for people."

"Touché."

They were silent for a moment then Pepper commented, sounding hesitant, "So did you accept?"

"Yeah." She paused and found herself actually searching for something else to say. "He has surprisingly decent taste in décor."

"Actually, I did the decorating for yo- the apartments."

"You did?"

"Yes. You uh… it just, um, well you didn't all seem like the ultra-modern type. And so, it made sense." Natasha frowned. Pepper was definitely not telling her everything. But before she could push, Pepper spoke, "Ah. I… suppose this means we'll be seeing even more of each other then." Now Pepper's voice was definitely hesitant and something else Natasha couldn't quite place her finger on. It almost seemed like fear but she was pretty confident that Pepper didn't fear her.

Then the ramifications hit her. Seeing more of Pepper. Right. Because of course Pepper would be staying overnight in the Tower. Probably had been doing so regularly once they'd finished the transition to New York. _Shit_.

"Uh, yeah." She winced at her own voice.

"Right." The silence this time was awkward. Pepper cleared her throat and spoke softly, "Well, goodnight, Natasha."

Natasha automatically lowered her voice to match. "Goodnight, Pepper."

She hung up and dropped the phone on the end table, allowing herself to collapse onto the couch. She stared at the ceiling for several minutes, just focusing on blanking her mind and breathing. The couch was almost absurdly comfortable and for the first time in a long time Natasha let herself simply fall asleep where she was. She didn't even twitch when JARVIS turned out the lights and darkened the windows, leaving just a dim light on in the foyer to allow her to see should she wake up.


	9. Chapter 9

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

**A/N:** Just want to say thanks again to everyone who's favorited this, or tracked it, or left a review! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :D There will be a double update tomorrow as I will be out of town and the regular updates will pick back up late on Sunday.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"Agent Romanoff."

Natasha jerked awake, rolling off the couch and to her feet before she was fully conscious, automatically dropping into a defensive posture. She blinked, registering that she was still in Stark Tower. Right, new apartment. The lights were still dimmed and she straightened, asking, "Yes, JARVIS?"

"Agent Barton is sitting in the duct. He wishes to see you and has asked me to wake you every five minutes for the past three hours."

Natasha laughed softly. "Of course he has."

"Shall I continue to maintain the security on the duct access?"

"No, let him in." Natasha glanced around for the light switch. "JARVIS? Where's the light switch?"

"The lights can be controlled either through voice activation or via the control panel next to the foyer."

"Thanks." She wandered over to the panel, tapping it and blinking at the sudden cascade of options that appeared. Everything from the lights to the temperature to the appliances could be controlled here. In fact, she was pretty positive she could launch a damn rocket with this thing if she wanted to.

She was still exploring the options available, having found and turned up the lights to a reasonable level first, when Clint strolled up behind her.

"Hey, Nat."

"Clint." She found the control for the coffee maker and grinned briefly. Perfect. Almost immediately she could smell the rich coffee brewing.

Wandering toward the kitchen, she glanced at Clint as she walked by. "What brings you here?"

He shrugged, falling into step beside her. "Just figured I'd stop in and say hi. How'd it go?"

"Same as always."

"Good. Injuries?"

"Stab wound, left side."

He glanced sideways at her. "No gunshots?"

"Not this time."

"Good."

She rummaged through the cabinets briefly, shortly finding a large selection of coffee mugs. One had a gun grip for a handle. Rolling her eyes, she filled that one and handed it to Clint. That was clearly Tony's sense of humor at work. In fact, there was a whole selection of strange mugs including one whose handle was a pair of brass knuckles. Shaking her head slightly, she pulled out a plain black mug.

Interestingly there was no sugar or creamer dispenser. Pepper's work then. The other woman knew that Natasha preferred her coffee black. Fortunately, so did Clint. Holding her coffee mug with both hands, Natasha turned and leaned against the counter, watching Clint.

He flashed her a grin and saluted with the gun mug. "Stark gave me one of these too."

She let out a short laugh. "Of course he did."

"What? It's great!"

"You want it, it's yours."

"Nah." He grinned at her and wandered out of the kitchen to the windows in the living room. They lightened as he approached, letting in the early afternoon sunlight.

Natasha followed him and leaned against the window, idly looking out over the city. "So which floors are everyone else on?" she asked.

"Thor's on top. Then me, you, Rogers, then Banner."

"Not Stark?"

"There are two common floors beneath Banner, split by a no kidding hangar for one of the jets, then Stark. Stark's workshops are right below him and then a lab for Banner. There's a floor of guest rooms below that."

She nodded slightly, processing the information. It was a surprisingly logical layout. But then, Stark was logical, just... eccentric.

"So, Mondays and Wednesdays are movie nights. Thursday is video gaming; Stark owns every game system you can think of. Cap is trying to convince everyone to watch baseball whenever it's on (Stark seems surprisingly amenable to that idea) and Thor has developed a taste for college football and professional hockey."

Natasha arched an eyebrow at Clint.

He just grinned, saluting her with his coffee mug. "Dinner's at seven."

"I'll keep it in mind." She looked back over the city, sipping her coffee thoughtfully. "So, what'd I miss?"

"Oh, the usual. Thor almost destroyed his apartment within an hour of moving in. Stark blew up several something or others in his workshop. Couple of really pathetic villains tried to take over the city. Oh, and I'm pretty sure we have a fan club now."

"Lovely."

"Oh it is." He leered. "They're using you and Cap as their main icons."

"Wonderful," she said dryly.

"It really is!" he said cheerfully. "Other than that… Jane and Darcy have been hanging around pretty regularly. So has Pepper. Even Coulson's come by for movie night at least once. Of course he spent most of the time glaring at Stark and trying to prevent him from instigating a popcorn fight."

"Great."

He sobered. "Look, Nat, if you don't want to come…"

"No." She shook her head slightly. "No, I'll come. It's… it'll be good."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So, I heard you got put on Pepper-sitting duty last night."

"Pepper-sitting duty?" He was watching her closely and she was careful to keep her expression neutral.

"Yeah. Had to go make sure she didn't get taken out by the Hammer-oid attack."

"You have been spending too much time around Stark."

He shrugged with a chuckle. "Possibly. But you're avoiding the question."

Natasha shrugged slightly. "Couldn't leave the trainee in charge. Took out about a half a dozen goons. Nothing major."

"There was a fight?" He raised an eyebrow at her, looking concerned. Clint of all people knew she preferred to have at least 24 hours to unwind after a mission before having to fight again.

"Brief. Nothing to worry about."

"Good." Clint paused. "You speak to Pepper after?"

"I did." She grimaced slightly. "Happy gave her my gear, had to get it back."

"How'd that go?"

A smile curved her lips almost instinctively. "She insisted on giving me first aid before giving me my bag back."

He looked surprised. "And you let her?"

"I… yes."

His gaze was speculative. "So… not just a passing fancy."

"Clint…"

He smiled and waved away her tone. "I'm not referring to us. It was for the best. You know that. I know that. But still, you've never exactly been one for someone taking care of you."

She shrugged uncomfortably, looking away from his gaze. "I don't know."

"Hey, Natasha…" His voice was gentle. She looked at him, pulling her mental and emotional shields around herself automatically. "I think it's great."

"Yeah well… never going to happen so whatever."

"Nat…"

"Clint. Drop it." She nearly growled the words and he prudently lapsed back into silence.

Several minutes later he raised his coffee mug. "Thanks for the coffee, Nat. I'll see you at dinner."

She nodded absently. He left silently. She heard him set the cup in the sink before he hopped back into the duct and disappeared. JARVIS quietly said "Duct security reset, Ms. Romanoff" before lapsing back into silence. Natasha spent the rest of the afternoon staring out at the city, lost in thought and deliberately ignoring the periodic input of JARVIS informing her that someone wished to speak to her.

* * *

Pepper stopped herself from double-checking her appearance for a fourth time. She didn't know why it was suddenly so important to her. After all, she'd been attending Avengers movie night for nearly a month now, ever since Steve had moved into the Tower and the others had started congregating there before moving in themselves. There was nothing different. Right.

The elevator opened on the upper of the two common floors and Pepper stepped out. She could already hear the typical loud jokes and teasing arguments over the food coming from the kitchen. Rolling her eyes at a particularly loud "Tony! Stop putting your fingers in the sauce!" she followed the sounds. Reaching the doorway to the communal kitchen, she found Tony, Clint, Steve, and Bruce already inside. Clint was apparently making spaghetti sauce and meatballs while Bruce supervised the pasta. Steve was trying to drag Tony away from the stove where he was clearly trying to snatch the sauce spoon.

Shaking her head, she said, "Tony, leave Clint's sauce alone."

Tony didn't seem to hear her though Steve glanced over at her, giving her a rueful smile. He wrapped his arms around Tony and picked him up entirely, depositing him in front of Pepper. "Tony, go."

"But I'm helping! Someone has to taste-test!"

"That someone not being you, Tony," Clint said without looking away from his sauce.

Pepper sighed and grabbed Tony's arm. "Come on, Tony. Leave Clint alone before he hits you."

"And if Clint doesn't, I will," said a voice from behind her.

Pepper couldn't completely muffle the undignified squeak as she spun to look at Natasha who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Natasha smiled faintly at her. Pepper narrowed her eyes. "You did that on purpose," she said accusingly.

Natasha shrugged slightly, the small smile still dancing in her eyes even after it had left her expression. "Maybe." She directed her next words to Tony though she didn't look away from Pepper. "If you ruin Clint's spaghetti sauce, Tony, I promise I will break your fingers."

Pepper looked sideways at Tony who was now giving Natasha a grumpy look. After a moment he muttered, "You're all kill-joys," and wandered away.

Pepper watched him leave and gave Natasha a wry smile. Sometimes, taking care of Tony was akin to raising a toddler. She was about to say something to the woman who was still watching her silently when Clint spoke up from in the kitchen.

"Nat, if you come into this kitchen, I will steal your favorite gun."

Natasha smirked. "Yes, oh great Chef. I wouldn't _dream_ of foiling your super-secret sauce."

Pepper half-turned so she could see Clint. He still didn't glance up but pointed the spoon unerringly at Natasha. "If you keep that up, no spaghetti for you."

Natasha grinned. Pepper gave her a curious look. "What-?"

Clint answered, "She's a terrible cook. I'm pretty sure she can destroy meals simply by existing in the kitchen. Hence, she's not allowed."

Pepper shot Natasha a surprised look but the other woman just shrugged. "It's true. I can make coffee, and use a microwave. Clint's the cook. Watches cooking shows and everything."

"Hey! I am cultivating hobbies! It is not my fault you're so business minded! And you still haven't read the play I wrote."

Pepper just watched the interaction in amazement. She had never seen Natasha this relaxed, much less actually bantering with someone.

"I have my own hobbies, Clint. They do not include reading plays."

"You promised."

"No, I didn't."

"Ok, you didn't promise. But you did say you'd read it!"

Natasha smiled blandly, flicking a clearly amused look at Pepper. "I lied."

Clint snorted. "I know."

Pepper cocked her head. She could tell Bruce and Steve were listening intently to the conversation though both men were trying very hard not to show it. Bruce was giving the pasta far more attention than it deserved while Steve busied himself shuffling plates and silverware around. "So why didn't you learn to cook, Tasha?"

Once more Clint answered for her. "Because she was too busy trying to figure out how many items she could turn into weapons. And I didn't want to starve."

Pepper fully expected Natasha to at least make some remark to Clint about interrupting but she just gave another shrug, seemingly content to accept his answer. "I… see."

Natasha suddenly flashed her a grin, so briefly that Pepper almost thought she'd imagined it. "Come on. If we don't leave soon, Barton will follow through on his no spaghetti threat."

"No no, Pepper can stay. Just you need to go."

Pepper muffled a laugh. "Ah, no, I think I'll go as well. It looks like I'll just be in the way in here."

Natasha started to stroll away from the kitchen, but not before flicking something small at Clint's head. The sniper didn't even look as he batted it away, calling, "You're losing your touch, Nat."

The second missile caught him square in the back of the head. Pepper laughed softly at his indignant "hey!" and followed Natasha away from the kitchen. They found Thor and Tony ensconced in recliners in the home theater, avidly watching a hockey game. Pepper frowned in confusion, looking from Thor to Tony. Tony had never been all that interested in sports before, only keeping up with the headlines and stats in order to converse with business partners. She didn't think she'd ever actually seen him _watch_ a sports game.

One of the teams did something that had both men shouting in glee. Completely confused, she looked at Natasha who was watching the screen with surprising intensity. Bemused, Pepper turned back to the game.

Natasha's voice startled her though she managed to keep the vocal expressions of surprise under control this time. "Dallas Stars versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. Stars just scored. It's just about halfway through the game and they're now up two zero."

Pepper looked at her, both eyebrows rising in surprise. "You watch hockey?"

Natasha favored her with another quick smile. "All my life. Russian hockey is better but the American games aren't bad." She nodded at the screen. "But this isn't a live game, it's one from last season."

Natasha turned her attention back to the game and Pepper took the moment to study her. The agent looked relaxed, dressed much as she'd been the night before in jeans and a black tank-top with what Pepper was fairly confident were combat boots. Idly she wondered if Natasha was armed before concluding that was probably a very stupid question.

"How's your back?"

Natasha replied quietly and Pepper could practically feel the other woman withdrawing. "It's fine."

She frowned in confusion at the sudden withdrawal. Pepper was just considering whether to push the issue or not when Steve walked in. She saw Natasha flick a glance at him, her expression closing off even further.

Steve gave both women a cheerful grin before speaking, pitching his voice loud enough to carry over the sound of the game, "Dinner's ready."

Pepper immediately dodged behind Natasha, well familiar with the way Thor stampeded out of rooms when there was food involved. Tony was close behind the demi-god and grinned at the trio in the doorway. "Food's not in here, guys. Better hurry before Thor eats it all… again."

He sauntered out, Steve falling in step beside him, leaving the two women to exchange exasperated glances before following. Pepper watched Natasha's shoulders relax slightly as soon as the two men's backs were to them. _Well, at least it probably wasn't my question that annoyed her then._

Cocking her head curiously, puzzling over the information, she followed the smaller woman back toward the dining room. Her scrutiny didn't miss the way Natasha's body tensed back up as soon as they were near the others. She wondered if anyone else besides Clint noticed. She had a feeling they didn't.


	10. Chapter 10

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

The chaos had expanded, Darcy and Jane having apparently showed up a few minutes before. Cheerful pandemonium ensued as everyone found seats at the table and began passing around the truly massive amounts of pasta, sauce, and garlic bread. Dinner was loud and included one abortive attempt at a food fight when Clint threw a piece of garlic bread at Tony's head only to have it grabbed out of the air by Natasha who shot both men a quelling look.

Pepper smothered a grin when the woman began calmly eating her newly acquired bread, pointedly ignoring both Clint and Tony's protests that it was theirs. Pepper had found herself sitting next to Tony, as usual, with Natasha casually, but firmly, claiming the seat on her other side. Natasha didn't say a word the entire dinner, seemingly content to simply let the boisterous conversation wash over her.

In between bites of food Pepper tried to surreptitiously study the other woman. Natasha's expression was completely neutral and her eyes virtually emotionless except for the occasional glints of humor, usually at something Clint said or did. The archer seemed to be going out of his way to tease her and Pepper wondered if that was normal or if he was going overboard due to it being Natasha's first meal with the group. Given the tolerant way Natasha put up with him, she concluded it was probably normal.

Dinner finished, the four women abruptly found themselves alone with the dirty dishes. Pepper could hear Tony cajoling Bruce and Steve into leaving it because they helped with the cooking, his ramblings overpowering whatever protests the other two were making.

The four women exchanged glances and Jane commented wryly, "We wouldn't want Thor helping anyway. There would be very few dishes left."

Even Natasha cracked a slight smile at the comment before rising and beginning to gather up the dishes in silence. Darcy followed suit, commenting, "If this is how it's going to be, next time, I vote we cook."

Pepper shot a glance at Natasha who met her eyes briefly, lips quirking in a smile as she said, "Sure. If I can make Barton's."

Pepper laughed, garnering puzzled looks from Darcy and Jane. Waving them off she followed Natasha into the kitchen, carrying a stack of dishes. With four people it was short work to put everything in the dishwasher and ask JARVIS to run it overnight. Darcy and Jane immediately headed for the home theater but Pepper hung back, waiting for Natasha.

For a moment she was positive the spy was going to leave but Natasha smiled, commenting simply, "I told Clint I'd be there."

Pepper ignored the mild pang the offhand comment gave her. She had no right, or reason, to be upset if Natasha was seeing Clint. After all, it made perfect sense. Pepper also couldn't shake the feeling that Natasha didn't actually want to be there.

She didn't think she'd done anything to give her thoughts away but Natasha touched her arm lightly, giving her a concerned look. "Are you ok, Pepper?"

She forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Shall we see what movie the boys picked out?"

Natasha folded her arms, giving Pepper a serious look. "Not until you stop lying to me."

Pepper considered her answer. "You just don't look like you want to be here. You don't have to force yourself to be social if you don't want to, you know."

Natasha was quiet for several minutes and Pepper was starting to wonder if they were going to stand in the kitchen silently all night when Natasha finally said, "It's not that. Well, not entirely." She looked away briefly before looking back, her green eyes seeming much more intense. But her expression had softened into a slight smile. "But, it's fine. I… appreciate the concern, though."

Pepper smiled back. "Anytime. Shall we?"

Natasha nodded, pacing silently next to Pepper as they left the kitchen. Pepper shot the other woman a sidelong glance as they walked; Natasha made no sound when she moved and it was slightly eerie. Pepper noted that once again, Natasha seemed to be at least a little less tense than she had been.

As they approached the home theater, a very distinctive theme song was audible through the door. Pepper laughed ruefully. "Should have guessed. _Return of the Jedi_."

Natasha glanced at her. "How do you know?"

"Because _A New Hope_ and _Empire Strikes Back_ were the past two movie nights."

Once inside, Natasha immediately found a seat in the back right up against the wall. Pepper watched, bemused, as Natasha settled sideways into the seat, angling her body towards the door.

Pepper started to move towards Tony, but upon seeing him happily settled next to Steve and knowing that he would likely maintain a stream of quiet commentary to the blond man, she instead opted to sit in an empty seat next to Natasha. The agent gave her a curious look but turned her attention back to the movie after a couple seconds.

Once the movie was over, Clint cheerfully claimed it was time to start inducting Thor and Steve into the great science fiction television shows and next thing she knew the original _Star Trek_ was playing on the giant TV, all of the men engrossed. It was a few minutes before she realized Natasha had disappeared at some point after the movie had ended. Glancing at Tony, who was arguing with Clint over whether science fiction needed to be more science or fiction, she rose and went to see if she could find the agent.

She was surprised to actually find Natasha in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee and absently humming something Pepper didn't recognize. "Tasha?"

Natasha looked up and smiled. "Pepper." She indicated a kettle on the stove. "Hot water if you want tea."

Charmed that Natasha remembered her evening drink preference, Pepper retrieved a cup and tea, swiftly making herself a cup while Natasha grabbed her coffee. Settling at the small breakfast table, she gave Natasha a concerned look. "Are you ok?"

"Yes. I can just only tolerate so much science fiction in one sitting."

Pepper gestured at the kettle and asked, "How'd you know I'd follow you?"

Natasha laughed softly. "Because you hate science fiction. I didn't figure you would tolerate sitting through _Star Trek_ episodes."

"How did you know that? That can't possibly have been in a file somewhere."

Natasha just laughed harder at Pepper's indignant question. "Many ways but no, not from a file."

Pepper found herself grinning; Natasha seemed to be almost as relaxed as she had been earlier while joking with Clint. "Ok, I'll bite. How?"

Natasha gazed at her thoughtfully as if considering whether to answer the question. "I saw your movie collection. And there was the slight edge of resignation in your tone when you talked about the movies earlier, along with a faint look of disgust. Couple of other things too but those are the big ones."

Pepper shook her head slightly, still smiling. She could hear the admiration in her own voice when she said, "Ok, I'm impressed."

Natasha shrugged. "I've had a lot of practice."

Something in her voice warned Pepper not to press for details. At least not right now. Instead she changed the subject and the pair spent the next few hours discussing various topics from music to history. Pepper was shocked when she realized it was after one A.M. and not only had she not seen Tony the entire time, she hadn't even noticed.

"I should get going. Work tomorrow's going to be horrible as it is." She gave Natasha a regretful smile.

The other woman glanced at the clock and nodded. "I'll take you home."

"What? No, Tasha, you don't need to do that."

Natasha arched an eyebrow, rising gracefully from the table. "Happy's asleep. And unless you'd rather ride with Tony, who I'm fairly sure doesn't actually believe traffic laws exist…"

Pepper winced at the thought. Natasha was right; his driving tended to be terrifying. "I can call a cab."

"Pepper." Natasha's voice was firm. "I'll take you home."

Pepper opened her mouth to continue protesting but at the look in Natasha's eyes she shut it and nodded slightly. Idly she wondered if this was the look Natasha had when she was the Black Widow instead of just Tasha. Whatever it was, Pepper had to admit it was slightly terrifying. And more than a little attractive.

Forcing the last thought away, she stood. "I'll meet you at the elevator in five minutes. Just let me tell Tony I'm leaving."

Natasha nodded and left the kitchen in utter silence.

Pepper slipped into the theater. Darcy and Jane were nowhere to be seen and Bruce was half asleep on a couch to the side. The others, however, were still wide awake and avidly watching another episode.

"Tony?"

Clint was the only one that appeared to hear her. He glanced over and cocked his head at her curiously as if surprised to see her there. She smiled at him and indicated Tony, silently asking him to get the other man's attention.

Clint complied, shooting her a mischievous grin before reaching over and flicking Tony's ear. Tony yelped and half turned in his chair, glaring at Clint who just laughed. "Your girlfriend's here, Tony."

"What? Pepper?" Tony finished turning around and he definitely was surprised to see her. He stood and walked over, dodging another attempt by Clint to flick his ear. "Pepper, I didn't realize you were still here."

"Yes, Tony, I've been in the kitchen."

"The kitchen? What on Earth for?"

"Talking to Natasha."

"Natasha? You mean she has conversations?"

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Yes, Tony. But I'm going home now."

"You are? Why?"

"I have an early meeting."

"Oh. Sure you don't want to stay?" He gave her a hopeful grin.

"I'm sure. You guys have fun with your show."

"Ok." He gave her a swift kiss. "Night."

"Goodnight, Tony."

Another quick kiss and he was practically bounding back to his friends. Pepper shook her head at his antics and left.

Natasha was leaning against the wall next to the elevator, now wearing the same leather jacket as the night before. She straightened and flashed Pepper a smile. "Ready?"

"Yes." Once they were in the elevator and on the way down, she gave Natasha a curious look. "I didn't know you had a car."

Natasha gave her what could only be classified as a mischievous smile. "I don't. Mr. Stark was kind enough to _lend_ me his Ferrari."

Pepper stared then burst out laughing. "You stole his keys."

Natasha looked innocent but Pepper could clearly see the amusement in her eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

**A/N:** As promised, double post today. :) Next chapter will be up sometime late on Sunday, exact timing will depend on when I get back in town. Hope everyone's still enjoying it!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

In the following weeks, Pepper found herself rearranging her schedule to ensure she would make it for movie and gaming nights at the Tower. Each night followed a similar pattern. After watching the movie or initial couple rounds of games, she and Natasha would end up in the kitchen with their coffee and tea talking quietly until at least midnight. And every time, Natasha conveniently borrowed one of Tony's cars to take Pepper home, insisting that after midnight was no time for her to be riding in a cab in Manhattan. Eventually, Pepper stopped even attempting to tell Tony she was leaving and he never brought it up.

The first time Pepper wasn't able to make it after Natasha had returned home, the SHIELD agent had shown up in Pepper's office with a portion of the food from the meal and given her a look that clearly said _You will eat this food or I will make you_. They had both ignored Kelly's incredulous look when she'd walked into Pepper's office later to find Natasha casually sharing a meal with Pepper and chuckling at their conversation. After it happened a few times, Kelly appeared to accept the strangeness that was her training evaluator, and the woman well known as being one of the most aloof agents in SHIELD, appearing in Pepper's office with food and staying for over an hour apparently socializing.

When Natasha had another mission that took her out of country for several weeks, Pepper found herself carefully watching the news every day for anything that hinted at where the spy was. After a few days she received an email with no sender and no way for even JARVIS to trace it. But the message simply read _I'm fine. The coffee here is terrible._ and she knew it was from Natasha. She didn't tell anyone about the email, but every few days another one appeared, always beginning with "I'm fine" and a second sentence referring to something that they had spoken of though never in enough detail to give away who or where the spy was.

Three weeks into Natasha's absence Pepper realized she'd had more communication from a generally incommunicado Natasha over the past weeks than with her own boyfriend. It was the longest period of non-communication between them ever. Both distracted by their new jobs and without needing his signature on everything, Pepper was surprised at how easy it had become to drift apart.

On a flight back from Los Angeles to New York, Pepper resolved to track Tony down. They could do their own dinner and a movie. She made sure to leave work early that day and made her way to the Tower. Letting herself into Tony's workshop, she found him halfway under a car, Black Sabbath blaring from the speakers.

Smiling fondly, she had JARVIS stop the music and waited for Tony to appear in outrage. When he saw her, his annoyed look morphed into a lopsided smile. "Hey, Pep. What are you doing here?"

"Did you know it's been over a month since we did anything together?"

"What? We do stuff together all the time!"

"I meant just us, Tony. Not with the rest of the Avengers."

He fell silent, frowning. "Really?"

She couldn't stop the small smile. He really was kind of adorable in his absent-mindedness. "Really."

"I… well, we should fix that. Busy tonight?"

"Not yet."

"Great. Dinner and a movie? My rooms? The others can handle entertaining themselves without my charming presence for one evening."

"Sounds good. But I'm not doing anything with you unless you shower first."

He stopped in mid-hug and looked down at first his grease covered shirt and jeans and then her impeccable skirt-suit. "Right. I'll just uh… Dummy! Clean this mess up. JARVIS, save all plans and hold until tomorrow." He smiled at her again. "Meet you upstairs in a few."

Dinner was spent mostly with Tony doing his usual ramble at breakneck speeds and Pepper attempting to follow his long-winded explanations of whatever it was he was currently working on. She _thought_ it was something to do with modifying the Avengers' jet but she wasn't positive. After a while they both lapsed into silence to finish their wine, occasionally making a comment about a minor topic.

The slightly awkward silence continued into the movie. The pair sat on the couch, initially attempting to cuddle together like they'd used to and eventually edging apart. Finally the credits rolled and Pepper sighed, turning to Tony. He looked at her and she recognized the determined look in his eyes.

Cocking her head at him curiously, she waited to see what he was going to do. They hadn't said a word to each other since before the movie had started and she was still casting around for something to say that wasn't completely inane. Tony dragged himself closer, turning to face her. At his questioning look, she nodded slightly, giving him a smile. Tony leaned forward to press his lips softly against hers.

The kiss was over almost as soon as it had begun and he sat back with a rueful smile, the determined look gone. She met his smile with a wry one of her own.

"So," he said before trailing off.

"Yeah."

They were both silent again.

Tony sighed and gave a little shrug. "I'm sorry, Pepper."

"Tony… don't be. It's not your fault. It's not mine. It doesn't always work out, you know."

"I know." He gave her a wary look. "You're not going to resign again are you? Because I really don't think anyone wants me in charge of the company again. Including myself."

She laughed and fondly patted his cheek. "No, Tony, I'm not going to resign. I am, however, going to go home."

"Hey, Pepper? You know you've always got a home here if you want one. I mean, I could remodel another floor."

"Thanks, Tony. But really, I'm good with my apartment. Living _at_ work is a bit much even for me."

He grinned. "You just need more fun work!"

Laughing Pepper stood. "Sure I do." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later, Tony."

He nodded and when she turned back around at the elevator he was still watching her with a fond smile. She smiled back and he gave a little wave before she entered the elevator and left.

* * *

Natasha let out a weary sigh as she trudged out of the elevator. It had been a very long three and a half weeks and she hadn't slept in over 48 hours. Her voice was tinged with exhaustion as she spoke to the AI on her way through the apartment. "JARVIS? Seal off the floor. If Barton tries to get in before it's been at least twelve hours, you have my permission to stop him in whatever way you desire."

"Yes, Ms. Romanoff."

She was passing through the living room on her way to her bedroom when she stopped, cocking her head in puzzlement at the stack of mail on one of the end-tables. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Ms. Romanoff?"

"What's all this?" She waved a hand at the pile, having finally gotten used to the idea that the AI could actually "see" her gestures if needed.

"Your fan mail, Ms. Romanoff. Your regular mail is on your desk."

"My what?" Natasha dropped her bag and wandered over to the pile of envelopes, thoroughly confused.

"Your fan mail."

"Since when do we get fan mail?" She flipped through the envelopes, bemused. The majority were addressed to "Black Widow" though a few used her known alias of "Natasha Romanoff."

"Since approximately one week ago. Captain Rogers thought it appropriate that people have a way to contact you all. Agent Coulson has set up a small SHIELD office to act as the public address for the Avengers. All mail is thoroughly screened before being delivered daily to the Tower."

She raised an eyebrow slightly, still flipping through the letters. "Censored?"

"The others vehemently opposed any form of censoring. The mail is tested for danger and then passed through without censoring."

Natasha wasn't sure whether that was good or not. She knew what sort of things could appear in fan mail and while it may not be physically dangerous, she was certain some of it could possibly be dangerous to her eyesight and mental health. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"That is up to you, Ms. Romanoff, though I believe Agent Coulson wishes everyone to respond if possible in order to promote positive public relations."

"Of course he does." Natasha sighed and scrubbed at her eyes for a moment. "Ok, I'll get on this then." She didn't believe in delaying things until later; it was far easier to get unpleasant, or at least undesired, activities over as quickly as possible.

"Yes, Ms. Romanoff. I have started the coffee maker."

Natasha nodded tiredly. "Thanks, JARVIS."

She had started moving to put her bag in her room and change when JARVIS spoke again. "Ms. Potts left a message three days ago requesting to be notified when you returned. Shall I inform her now?"

"Did she say why?"

"She did not."

"Sure, let her know." Natasha glanced at the time, nearly midnight. "But silently. Don't wake her up."

"Of course. Message sent."

"Thanks."

Her gear unpacked and having changed into workout pants and an over-sized sweatshirt, Natasha padded back into the living room with a mug of coffee. She had just curled up on the couch and begun opening letters when her phone chimed with a message.

Glancing at the sender she felt her lips pulling into an automatic smile. Wincing slightly as the smile caused the bandage on her temple to pull slightly, she pulled up the message.

_Welcome home._

She dropped the current letter into the neat pile mentally labeled as "from children" and tapped out a response, turning her full attention to the phone. _Thanks. I thought you'd be asleep._

_Not quite. Are you ok?_

Natasha hesitated before answering. _I'm fine. No major injuries._

She frowned slightly when a few minutes went by without a response. She was about to call Pepper when JARVIS called quietly, "Ms. Romanoff, Ms. Potts is requesting floor access."

Laughing ruefully and wincing again, Natasha said, "Let her up." Nearly inaudibly she added, "Should have guessed."

Quietly she sipped her coffee, waiting for the elevator to open. A few minutes later it did so, the doors sliding open in near silence. Pepper stepped off and glanced around, her gaze zeroing in almost immediately on Natasha.

Natasha watched as a warm smile curved Pepper's lips. The taller woman moved into the living room, hanging her coat up as she passed the entry closet, and Natasha studied her guest in silence. Pepper wasn't dressed quite as casually as Natasha, but still more casual than Natasha could recall ever seeing her outside of the Picnic Incident, in jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and boots. Even for movie nights Pepper tended to come over straight from work and was usually still in a suit.

When Pepper was close enough, Natasha spoke quietly, "Hey."

"Hi." Pepper's smile faded slightly and Natasha could tell the precise moment her friend got a good look at her face. "Tasha! You said no injuries!"

"I said no _major_ injuries," Natasha corrected.

Pepper sighed. "So a wound that looks like it could have taken out your eye is minor?"

Natasha half-smiled. "It was never close to being that dangerous, though the guy who gave it to me thought so." She inclined her head to the couch, silently indicating the other woman should sit down.

Pepper glanced at the few scattered letters that Natasha had already gone through. "What's all this?"

Natasha groaned and dropped her head back to stare at the ceiling. She could hear the petulant tone in her own voice and, for the moment, didn't care. "Fan mail apparently."

Pepper laughed softly, pulling off her boots and curling up at the other end of the couch. They were both silent for a few minutes before Pepper commented, "You look exhausted."

"I am."

"When was the last time you slept?"

Natasha considered the question for a long moment.

Pepper sighed. "If you have to think that hard about it, it's been too long."

Natasha gave a short laugh. "At least forty-eight hours."

"Then why on Earth are you trying to deal with this stuff now?"

Natasha could hear the outrage in the other woman's voice and rolled her head so she could look at Pepper. "Why wait? Procrastinating rarely accomplishes anything."

"I don't think waiting until after you'd slept would have really counted as procrastination." Pepper was giving her a distinctly disapproving look.

Natasha shrugged, raising her coffee cup slightly. "That's why they invented coffee."

Pepper raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. "You should be in bed."

"It won't take me long. Just need to organize them then it's easy to figure out which ones require a response." Natasha tried to remember the last person who'd tried to insist she sleep instead of work. Clint? That was likely as most people didn't bother to try, much less insist after her first denial. But Pepper was still giving her that disapproving look and for a fleeting moment Natasha wondered if the other woman was actually going to try and force her to go to bed.

Finally Pepper sighed. "Fine. And then, you're getting some sleep."

Natasha grinned faintly. "Yes, Ms. Potts."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Don't start. I'm going to make some tea."

"You don't have to stay. You need sleep also."

"It's Friday, I can handle it." Pepper rose and waved her hand at the letters. "Go on, resume."

Natasha laughed softly and did as told. The two fell into companionable silence when Pepper returned. Absently Natasha noted that Pepper had pulled out a tablet and appeared to be doing her own work. Smiling to herself, Natasha turned her attention back to sorting the fan mail, content to sit in silence and grateful that Pepper appeared to feel the same.


	12. Chapter 12

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

It was midafternoon the next day when Natasha wandered out of her room. She'd finished sorting and replying at around two a.m. and insisted Pepper stay in a guest room. She assumed the other woman had left by now, given it was nearly three p.m. on a Saturday. Which was why she stopped short in surprise at finding Pepper sitting in her kitchen, tapping on a tablet and drinking a cup of coffee.

Natasha cocked her head slightly. "Why are you still here?"

Pepper looked up in surprise though she'd become much better about not making a sound. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Natasha shrugged and padded to the coffee maker. "It's been over twelve hours since we went to bed. I assumed you would leave after getting up since I'm sure you've been up far longer than me." She turned and leaned against the counter, studying Pepper curiously.

Pepper had twisted in her chair to face her. She smiled. "I wanted to make sure you were ok." Her gaze flickered over Natasha's face and Natasha could see her lips tighten slightly.

She knew the bruises had started looking particularly gruesome. The cuts didn't really

help. Natasha grimaced slightly. "They look worse than they feel, I promise."

Pepper shook her head slightly. "I'll take your word on that." She cocked her head. "Do you always sleep that long after a mission?"

Natasha nodded, sipping her coffee. "Usually, yes. I don't sleep well at the best of times, much less when I'm on a mission."

"And do you normally finish a mission by being awake for forty-eight hours?"

Natasha smiled slightly at the disapproving tone. "No. That wasn't really intentional." She lapsed back into silence, expression becoming serious once more as she studied her coffee.

Pepper's soft question broke the stillness, "Can you tell me about it at all?"

Natasha considered the question. "I underestimated how long some activities would take. Just didn't really have time to sleep. And I don't sleep on planes or in hospitals or well, almost anywhere that's not home."

"I see." They studied each other in silence for a long moment before Pepper looked away. Natasha could see the faint blush tinting the other woman's cheeks and filed the information away. "So, are you hungry?"

Natasha quirked a quick smile. "Yes. But I can live with a snack until dinner."

The blush was gone and once more Pepper was turning that disapproving look on her.

Natasha smiled and held her hands up in fake surrender. "I promise. I'll have a snack; it'll be fine. I don't like to throw off my meal cycle."

Pepper sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, it's just strange to have someone who can, and does, take care of themselves in my life. Even Rhodey occasionally needs to be told what to do."

Natasha's smile warmed. "If it will make you feel better, I will take you to dinner and you can see me eat for yourself." A warning bell was chiming in her mind and she ignored it. She would never forget that Pepper was Tony's but for the moment, the idea of not at least flirting a little seemed abhorrent.

Pepper gave her a knowing smile, eyes glinting with amusement. "Why Agent Romanoff, are you trying to manipulate me?"

Natasha laughed. "Possibly. Or possibly not."

The rest of her words were cut off when JARVIS interrupted, "I'm sorry, Ms. Romanoff. Agent Barton is once again being very insistent on being allowed in. I believe he is preparing to break in the ceiling."

Natasha sighed. "Fine, let him in." She looked at Pepper apologetically. "Sorry, he gets this way whenever I get back."

Pepper's expression closed off somewhat and Natasha had to stop herself from asking what the problem was. That was a topic that could be covered later, when Clint wasn't about to barge in. But Pepper's voice sounded slightly strained as she said, "It's no problem. I should go."

Natasha frowned. "You don't have to." She offered up a tentative smile. "I promised you dinner. If you're up for an early meal we could-"

"Tasha! You're home!" Clint practically bounded into the kitchen then stopped short upon seeing Pepper. His gaze flicked from one woman to the other. "Uh… sorry to interrupt."

Natasha shook her head slightly in resignation but with a slightly amused smile. "Hello, Clint. Yes, I'm home."

"Really, I should go." Pepper gave them both what Natasha could clearly tell was a fake smile. "I'll see you later, Tasha."

"Pepper…"

"No, it's ok. You two catch up." Pepper offered another fake smile and hurried out of the kitchen.

Natasha exchanged a glance with Clint, hers puzzled and his thoughtful. Once they'd heard the elevator open and close, Clint broke the heavy silence. "I'm sorry, Nat. I didn't realize she was here."

"Why would you?" She refilled her coffee cup, automatically filling one for Clint also.

He shrugged as he took the mug from her. "I could have always asked JARVIS."

"Again, why would you? Clint, stop apologizing for something that's not your fault." She frowned at the open doorway Pepper had disappeared through. "I'm not really sure whose fault that was. Whatever _that_ was."

Clint raised an eyebrow, giving her an amused look. "You know exactly what that was; you're just refusing to admit it."

She glared at him. "No."

"Yes. Come on, Natasha, what other reason could there be? Unless you two were already being awkwardly uncomfortable with each other before I arrived and I doubt that."

"Because the reason you're espousing doesn't actually make sense!"

"And why not?"

Her glare intensified but she didn't answer.

"Exactly. Nat, just go talk to her."

Natasha sighed, dropping the glare and feeling somewhat drained. "To what end? She has a boyfriend, remember?"

"You and I both know that's not a reason."

Natasha practically growled at him, slamming every mental and emotional wall back into place. Her voice and eyes were as perfectly blank as if she was on a mission and not standing in her own kitchen with her best friend. "This isn't a mission, Clint. She's a friend. I will _not_ treat her like that."

Clint set his coffee down and scrubbed both hands through his hair. "Shit, Natasha. That's not what I meant." He took a deep breath and dropped his arms. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have implied that."

She held the look a moment longer then relaxed again, allowing some of the walls to drop once more. "I know you didn't. I'm sorry. Look, can we just… talk about something else?"

"Sure. How was the mission?"

"Fine. Russia still sucks. Even more so in winter."

He gave her a grim look but didn't press for details. He knew enough about her past to know better. "Any injuries other than the visible?"

"Bumps and bruises mostly."

"Interrogation?"

"Yep."

"Classy."

His dry tone prompted an equally dry laugh from her. "No one accused the bad guys of being creative. Or sophisticated."

They both lapsed back into silence, sipping their coffee. It was one of Natasha's favorite things about Clint; he was just as content to sit in silence with her as he was to crack jokes.

Natasha spoke suddenly, not looking at Clint, instead studying her coffee intently. "She came by last night, right after I got home. She'd left a message with JARVIS asking to be notified. I… I sent her emails while I was gone."

She felt Clint's gaze on her but didn't look up. Finally he said quietly, "Nat, you really need to talk to her. You don't have to tell her how you feel but… you should at least make sure she has the right idea about us."

Natasha sighed. "I know." She paused then admitted, "I have no idea what I'm doing, Clint."

She could hear the half-smile in his voice when he said, "You seemed to do just fine with us."

Now she looked up, smiling slightly. "That was a lot easier. You're… you."

He nodded, sobering. "I know. But still, you owe it to yourself to try."

"Do I? I don't owe myself anything; it's everyone else that I owe."

"Tasha, you know that's not true. Not anymore."

She thought about it for a moment then conceded, "Maybe."

Her partner of five years reached out and gently took the empty cup from her hands. "You should probably change before wandering around the city." He smiled. "And possibly don a balaclava."

She quirked a slightly mischievous smile at him. "I'll just tell anyone who asks that it's your fault."

He chuckled and waved her out of the kitchen. "Go. Change. I'll let myself out."

She nodded. "Thanks, Clint."

"You'd do the same for me."

* * *

Two hours later Natasha stood at the balcony door to Pepper's apartment. She'd briefly considered knocking on the door but that was too likely to allow Pepper to simply pretend she wasn't home. Setting down the bags of food in her hand, Natasha swiftly picked the lock and slipped inside.

Pepper was curled up on the couch, still in the same clothes she'd shown up in the previous night. Natasha closed the balcony door silently behind her and deliberately shot the bolt with an audible "click." Pepper sprang from the couch, whirling to face her. Natasha smiled tentatively, saying, "Hey."

Pepper sighed in exasperation and relaxed. "Do you not believe in doors?"

"I came through a door."

Pepper gave a brief chuckle and shook her head in amusement. "You know what I meant."

Natasha shrugged, moving further into the room. "Doors are boring."

Pepper tilted her head, giving Natasha a curious look, her brow furrowing. "Why are you here?"

Natasha held up the bag of food. "I promised you an early dinner. And… I was hoping we could talk."

"About?" Pepper suddenly seemed wary, closing herself off.

Natasha frowned but moved into the dining room and began setting out the food. She waited until she heard Pepper move up behind her before responding. "About anything really but I was kind of hoping to find out why you suddenly left when Clint showed up."

"I didn't want to be in the way," Pepper said softly, her words slightly stilted.

Natasha turned to face her, leaning one hip against the table. She crossed her arms and asked, "In the way? Of what?"

Pepper gave her a look that clearly said _Stop treating me like a moron_.

"Seriously, Pepper, in the way of what? I am capable of reuniting with more than one friend at once you know. I can multi-task and everything." She consciously lightened her voice and expression, wanting to make it clear she was teasing even as she's making her point.

She could tell almost the exact moment Pepper understood what she was implying. The other woman's eyes widened ever so slightly and Natasha was intrigued to note the sudden relaxation of her entire frame.

"Well, you and Clint have been friends longer than us. And there's the whole partners thing. I didn't want to disturb any sort of post-mission ritual you SHIELD agents might have." She offered up a lopsided smile and Natasha could see the silent apology for jumping to the wrong conclusion.

"Clint's version of a post-mission ritual is to steal my coffee, whether it's post his mission or mine," Natasha commented dryly.

Pepper laughed and nodded at the food. "So what did you bring?"

"Mexican. Lots of it."

Pepper surveyed the table. Natasha truly had brought a lot of food, far more than they normally would eat, even with both of them eating it. Pepper raised an eyebrow at her. "Hungry?"

"Starving." Natasha smiled. "Usually am after a mission. Side effect of tending to sleep for twelve hours upon arriving home."

Pepper nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense." She stepped into the kitchen briefly, returning with glasses of water.

Natasha smiled gratefully, immediately taking a long sip. "Thanks."

They settled at the table, eating mostly in silence. After cleaning up in silent coordination, the pair moved out to the living room, curling up on opposite ends of the couch, much like the night before.

"So, did Tony wrangle you into attending the 'team building exercise' tomorrow?" Natasha asked. Pepper looked at her then glanced away. Natasha frowned, concerned. "Pepper? Everything ok? Did he hurt you? I swear I will break him." She couldn't prevent the threat from coming out but she really didn't care. If _anyone_ hurt Pepper, she would do more than break them, even if that anyone was Tony Stark.

Pepper faced her, eyes wide in mild alarm. "No! No, Tasha, he didn't. Not that he couldn't stand to be put in his place sometimes but… in this case there's no reason to."

Natasha studied her intently, still serious. "Then what is it?"

Pepper took a deep breath, seeming to steel herself for something. "We broke up."

"What?" Natasha was stunned.

"Three, no four, days ago."

Natasha pulled herself together. _It doesn't matter. You are her friend and nothing more. You _will_ act like it_. Satisfied she'd collected herself enough to speak calmly, she asked, "What happened?"

Pepper gave her a bittersweet smile. "Nothing, actually. We just… stopped working. I suddenly realized we hadn't done anything just us in over a month. I'd um, I'd actually spoken with you, or at least heard from you, more than him in recent weeks and you weren't even in the country."

Natasha smiled slightly at that. She'd known Pepper had received the emails and had hoped the other woman had figured out who they were from. Normally she would say such a thing was wildly out of character for her but then again, half the time _she_ didn't know what was in character for herself.

"Anyway," Pepper continued, "we tried to have a date and it just… didn't work." She shrugged. "Nothing spectacular about it. He kissed me and it was… nothing."

"I'm sorry."

Pepper smiled slightly. "Appreciated but it's ok."

"Are _you_ ok?"

"Surprisingly, yes." She paused, looking thoughtful. "I think I always half expected it to not work out. I mean, it's Tony. So, when it didn't, not really a huge shocker."

"Still, never easy. Or so I've been told."

Pepper looked at her curiously. "So you've been told?"

Natasha chuckled ruefully. "The life of a spy is not conducive to romance. Relationships with other spies don't really work out, too much stress. And relationships with civilians…" She shrugged. "They don't generally understand, or try to. So, it's easier not to."

"I'm sorry."

It was Natasha's turned to smile and deflect the sentiment. "Appreciated but it's ok. I resigned myself to it long ago." She didn't miss the considering look Pepper directed at her. "What?"

Pepper flashed her a quick smile. "Nothing important."

Natasha studied the other woman suspiciously, considering whether to insist on an answer but Pepper's expression clearly asked her not to push and Natasha sighed inwardly. She'd figure it out later. Hopefully.

Pepper seemed to sense her capitulation and changed the subject. "So, team building exercise huh?"

Natasha grimaced. "Yeah. Apparently, we are playing miniature golf."

Pepper blinked in clear surprise. "You're doing what?"

"That was pretty much my response."

"Whose idea was this?"

"If you believe Clint, it was Cap's."

"And if you don't believe Clint?" Pepper was clearly amused.

Natasha's lips twitched into a slight smile of her own, acknowledging the absurdity of the whole idea. "It was Clint's idea, probably with Tony's support. They just convinced Steve to _think_ it was his own idea."

Pepper laughed. "Do you need moral support?"

"No, I-"

Pepper just smirked. "What time?"

Natasha looked at her impassively for a minute then laughed. "Four p.m. Thanks."

"Do you know where?"

"Not a clue. I was just going to catch a ride with Coulson."

"Phil's going to be there? That's great!"

Natasha chuckled. "I think he thinks if he's not, we'll blow the place up."

They both considered that and then sighed in unison.

"He's probably not wrong," Pepper commented.

"Yeah, probably not."

They let the conversation drift to lighter topics from there. Both of them deliberately ignored Tony's increasingly pleading texts that they come watch the _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy back at the Tower, content to share a bottle of wine and catch up after Natasha's trip.


	13. Chapter 13

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

The team building exercise went surprisingly well, with only minimal structural damage by Thor when the windmill blocked his golf ball. No one questioned Pepper's attendance, or Darcy and Jane's, and the large group successfully managed to neither kill each other nor terrify the staff at the pizza parlor afterward. Unfortunately, this prompted Steve to declare that they would do an activity like this every weekend, barring attacks requiring the Avengers.

Natasha was surprised at how easy it was for her to fall back into the rather boisterous routine of the Tower. Most of the Avengers spent their free time scattered throughout the common floors and she found herself spending more time doing the same than expected. It helped that Pepper continued to attend movie nights and video gaming. And even after Pepper and Tony's break-up became common knowledge, no one questioned it, at least not to her or Natasha's face.

The weekend before Thanksgiving found the group's team building exercise being held at an ice skating rink in Central Park. For once, Natasha was looking forward to the outing. It was one of the few activities permitted in her early life that had born a resemblance to an actual childhood. She didn't let the fact that learning to ice skate, much like learning ballet, had had an ulterior motive bother her anymore.

She also didn't mention to the group that she had her own skates, though both Clint and Coulson were aware, but Pepper caught on immediately as they sat to pull on their footwear.

Despite sitting next to Natasha on the bench, Pepper lowered her voice and asked, "You own your own ice skates?"

Natasha flashed her a grin, eyes practically sparkling for once. "I do. It's one of the few hobbies I was allowed to have, and I still love it."

Pepper grinned back, seemingly automatically, but Natasha could see the hesitation behind it. She dropped the grin. "What's wrong?"

Pepper laughed ruefully. "I'm a terrible ice skater."

"I bet I can change that." She raised an eyebrow in challenge and Pepper met her gaze evenly, still half-grinning.

"You're on."

"Great. Let's go." Natasha practically bounded off the bench and balanced perfectly. She turned to Pepper and looked at her expectantly.

Pepper sighed, shooting her a disgusted look before standing carefully. Natasha suppressed another grin, feeling herself already relaxing at the idea of skating with the few people that she could, and did, count as friends.

Natasha took a few steps toward the rink then half-turned to wait for Pepper. The taller woman sighed and visibly steeled herself before taking a tentative step forward. She wobbled and Natasha instinctively grabbed her hand to help steady her.

Shoving down the warm feeling that stole over her at actually holding Pepper's hand, she said teasingly, "Can walk in four inch Louboutins but can't stand in ice skates."

"Oh, hush."

Natasha laughed softly. "Come on, I'll brace you." They took a few steps forward, still holding hands to prevent Pepper from falling. Natasha ignored the look she could feel boring into her back, knowing it was Clint. Stopping Pepper before they actually stepped on to the ice, she instructed quietly, "Ok, now just relax. Don't think so much about it and it'll become easier."

Pepper nodded hesitantly but gave her a smile. "If you let me fall, Romanoff, I'm going to hurt you."

Natasha laughed. "You could try."

"Oh, I'll find away. Tony will help me."

Natasha mock shuddered. "Well, if _that's_ your threat, I promise to treat you like glass."

Pepper laughed gently. "Ok, let's do this."

Natasha turned so she was facing Pepper and grabbed the woman's other hand as well. Pepper's hands tightened slightly on hers and she gave the other woman a curious look but Pepper wasn't looking at her. Natasha could see a light blush across Pepper's cheeks. She wasn't positive if that was because they were holding hands or just a reaction to the cold. Dismissing the thought, she took a slow step backwards, tugging Pepper's hands gently.

"Just follow me."

Pepper refocused on Natasha and gave her a hesitant smile. Pepper followed the tug, taking slow steps forward in unison with Natasha's backwards ones. They stepped onto the ice and Natasha felt Pepper's hands clamp down on her own almost painfully.

She gave her friend a reassuring smile, deliberately pitching her voice low and warm. "Just relax. It will be fine, I promise. Hold on to my hands and move your feet in unison with mine."

Pepper nodded and after a moment Natasha could feel the grip on her hands relax slightly though Pepper still gripped them firmly. Slowly, Natasha skated backwards, keeping to the edge and watching approvingly as Pepper moved her own feet in unison. Gradually Pepper's hold on Natasha's hands relaxed into a more casual grip. When Natasha made to release Pepper's hands, however, they tightened into almost a death grip.

Natasha winced slightly. "Ok, I won't let go yet. But, um, can I have circulation back please?"

"Sorry." This time it was definitely a blush.

Natasha smiled. "Don't be. You're doing great. Feeling ok?"

"Yes." Pepper smiled. "You're a good teacher."

Natasha felt her own cheeks color in a faint blush and tried desperately to ignore it. "Thanks. Ok, we're going to speed up slightly."

Pepper nodded, her expression taking on a determined cast.

Natasha sped up her strides slowly, moving them closer to a normal skating speed. Pepper concentrated on their feet and continued to move in unison, initially tensing back up then gradually relaxing once more.

Eventually she looked up and met Natasha's gaze. Natasha felt herself blushing even more at the warmth in Pepper's gaze and hoped desperately that Pepper would think it was the cold.

"You know, it's supremely unfair that you can do this backwards that gracefully."

Natasha laughed. "I've had a lot of practice." She gave Pepper a warm grin. "Don't worry; give me the chance and I'll have you skating backwards circles around the others."

"I'll hold you to that."

They shared a warm smile before Natasha said, "Ok, I'm going to let go now." When Pepper's hands tightened once more she added, "I will stay right here, within reach. I won't let you fall."

After a moment Pepper nodded slightly and loosened her grip. Slowly, Natasha released her hands, maintaining the same even pace.

"Are you ok?" Natasha studied Pepper closely, watching for the slightest indication that the other woman was about to lose her balance.

Pepper sounded surprised as she answered, "Yes."

Natasha couldn't help the smug smile. "Told you."

Pepper laughed, actually speeding up slightly. "Is there anything you aren't good at?"

Natasha automatically kept pace, maintaining the same distance though she lowered her hands slightly. "Several. Cooking being one, as you know."

"Remind me to teach you to cook someday."

"You can cook?"

Pepper grinned, clearly amused at Natasha's surprise. "I can. I'm surprised you didn't know that."

Natasha shrugged. "I've never seen you cook. And cooking skills aren't really something SHIELD keeps in their files."

"Fair enough."

They skated in silence for a few minutes, Natasha gradually speeding up and Pepper following. A few times she had to reach out to steady the other woman but as they continued making circuits, Pepper seemed to grow steadily more confident.

Eventually Natasha asked, "You ok on your own for a bit?"

"I… I think so. Where are you going?"

Natasha said reassuringly, "Not far. I just want to work out a few kinks."

Pepper nodded. "Ok."

Flashing another grin, and giving into the urge to wink at Pepper, Natasha sped up before spinning around to face forward, dropping into a crouch and driving herself forward rapidly. She relished in the speed, dodging swiftly around other patrons and laughing happily when Clint pulled up next to her, holding out a hand.

Throwing him a grin, she grabbed his hand and let him pull her into a spin. Letting go, she moved immediately into a jump, performing a quick three rotations before landing solidly. Clint laughed at her, holding out a hand again to pull her into him. She grinned up at him, settling into the skating. He wasn't nearly as good as she, given she'd taught him most of what he knew about figure skating, but his natural agility made him an ideal partner when she felt like doing something more complicated than skating in circles.

They let go of each other, settling into a chase around the ice instead. Rarely did Natasha give into her playful side, especially in public, but this time she decided she just didn't care. Laughing, she dodged Clint's attempts to snag her and ignored the other skaters, particularly their teammates, who were watching the pair.

Spinning to skate backwards once more, she called out, "Come on, Clint! You can do better than that!"

He grinned at her and suddenly increased his speed, moving straight at her much like an arrow shot from his bow. She laughed and dodged the attack deftly, spinning forward again and putting on a burst of speed to catch back up with Pepper who had come to a stop at the side and was watching the pair.

Natasha grabbed her hand. "Come on!"

"What? Tasha, I-"

Pepper didn't get a chance to say more before Natasha pulled her forward. "Trust me. Relax into it." Natasha grinned and spun around to skate backwards again, grabbing both of Pepper's hands once more. "Faster is better."

"Are you sure?" Pepper's expression was deeply skeptical even as she tried to keep up with Natasha's pace.

"Positive. Don't try to skate, just let me pull you. When you're comfortable with the speed, start moving your skates."

They settled into the speed, Clint moving up to skate backwards next to Natasha, occasionally giving Pepper an encouraging word and flashing them both grins. Eventually, Pepper started trying to actually skate and Natasha nodded at her encouragingly. "There you go. Just move your feet in step with mine."

Natasha felt Clint tap her lightly on the arm and glanced at him curiously.

He jerked his head to where the others had gathered at the side and were watching the trio, expressions ranging from uninterested (Darcy and Bruce) to almost disturbingly intent (Tony). "I think they want to leave."

Natasha hesitated, glancing at Pepper. The other woman seemed equally reluctant to leave. Natasha glanced back at Clint. "You guys head out. I think we'll stay a bit longer." She didn't miss the delighted look that flashed across Pepper's face before the other woman carefully schooled her expression back to what it had been.

Clint nodded, gave her what she recognized as a supportive smile, and then skated off. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he gestured to the others, clearly encouraging them to leave. After a couple minutes they did so and it was just Natasha and Pepper at the ice rink.

The pair settled into their circuits. Natasha recognized after a few laps that she could probably let go of Pepper's hands again but she was enjoying the sensation. Pepper didn't appear to notice or care so Natasha stayed silent, grateful for her tendency to wear fingerless gloves. Pepper's hands were encased in full gloves but they were still warm in Natasha's hands.

After another half an hour of skating in relative silence, Natasha asked, "So, are you coming up to the Tower for Thanksgiving?"

Pepper smiled. "You guys are having a Thanksgiving dinner?"

Natasha smiled back wryly. "Steve wouldn't have it any other way. Which means Tony is all for it. Thor is, of course, enthusiastic about our 'Midgardian customs'."

Pepper was silent, the smile vanishing as soon as Natasha mentioned Tony. Mentally kicking herself Natasha, pulled Pepper off the ice. Once they were both firmly on solid ground, she said softly, "Hey, Pepper, I'm sorry for bringing him up."

Pepper took a deep breath and gave her a clearly forced smile. "No, it's ok. We're over and he's free to move on. It's fine."

Natasha gave her a skeptical look. "It's not fine if it's upsetting you."

The smile was more genuine this time. "It's not upsetting me. It's just… awkward. For me, that is. I'm pretty sure Tony doesn't find anything awkward."

Natasha chuckled. "No, probably not." Sobering she asked, "Are you sure you're ok?"

Pepper briefly touched Natasha's cheek, causing the spy to freeze momentarily. "I'm fine. I promise. And I'd love to come to your Thanksgiving dinner, assuming you want me there."

"You're always welcome." Looking back out over the ice, Natasha smiled and asked, "Are you ready to head out? I know a great coffee place not far from here."

Pepper heaved a clearly relieved sigh. "Yeah, I'm ready." Her voice turned wry. "Not that I didn't have fun but I think my legs are about done for."

Natasha looked back at her with a smile. "Understandable. I –" She stopped herself in midsentence before she could offer to give the other woman a massage. Casually she changed her words. "Relaxing in a hot bath later will help. But in the meantime, coffee."

Pepper looked at her oddly and Natasha met her gaze calmly, using her skills to act as though she hadn't just changed what she was about to say. Pepper's eyes narrowed slightly and Natasha wondered if she was going to insist Natasha finish her original thought. But after a long moment, Pepper nodded slightly. "Sure. Coffee sounds great."


	14. Chapter 14

See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

**A/N:** So, this is the last chapter of Adagio! I am currently working on the sequel (which will pick up literally five minutes after the end of this chapter) as well as a few one-shots set in the same timeline.

Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed, read, alerted, favorited, etc.! I really appreciate it all and I'm glad you guys enjoyed the story! I had a lot of fun writing it and hopefully you'll all enjoy the sequel too once it's finished.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Thursday arrived both too quickly and too slowly for Pepper. Things at the office had been slow allowing her far too much time to dwell on the events of Sunday. She really wasn't sure what was going on between her and Natasha. The other woman _seemed_ to want to spend time with her but Pepper wasn't sure how much of that was wishful thinking and how much of that was true.

She was fairly positive that Natasha wasn't putting on a façade with her though. She knew, without a doubt, that should the spy want, Natasha could fool Pepper into thinking virtually anything about her; but she also knew that the other woman wouldn't do that. She had no idea what made her so certain though. She was positive about one thing, Natasha had been about to say something entirely different than a suggestion of a hot bath. Pepper hadn't really found the right time to confront the spy about it but she was determined to do so tonight.

Arriving at Stark Tower (recently dubbed 'Avengers Tower' by the general population once they realized the team at least operated out of there), Pepper took a deep breath and forced a smile at the cab driver. Paying him, she hurried into the building and past the security guards. The entire trip up to the Avengers' floors, Pepper sternly informed herself that she would _not_ be awkward around Tony, Steve, or Natasha and that she would not push Natasha at _all_ into talking about possible feelings… or lack thereof.

Stepping off the elevator was akin to stepping into chaos. Despite the fact that Pepper was fairly sure there were only the six Avengers plus Darcy, Jane, and Phil present, it felt like there were twice as many. She paused, watching the action for a moment with a half-grin. She could hear a football game blaring from the movie room while both Tony and Thor alternately ran from there to the kitchen. Several voices were arguing loudly over turkey and stuffing from the direction of the kitchen and Pepper could see Darcy and Jane sitting in the living room area trying not to die of laughter.

Pepper shook her head with a laugh and hung up her coat and scarf before making her way toward the kitchen, dodging a fast-moving Phil and then Clint on missions to who knew where. Peeking inside the kitchen she spotted Steve and Bruce tending various dishes while Tony hovered, offering bad advice and periodically expounding on the football scores of the various games (including ones that hadn't even been played yet). Ducking back out before Tony saw her, Pepper wandered the floor looking for Natasha.

The spy was nowhere to be found though Jane and Darcy thought they'd seen her earlier. Pepper frowned and then slipped back into the elevator, taking it down two floors and making her way to the gym set aside for martial arts. Sure enough, she found Natasha in the center of the boxing ring, sparring with what Pepper guessed was a Tony-built robot that was probably built for that express purpose. Pepper tried to ignore the fact that Natasha had opted for somewhat more revealing clothes than usual, clad in only a sports bra and a pair of tight fitting workout pants.

Pepper hovered silently at the door, not wanting to interrupt the other woman. But it only took moments for the agent to stop what she was doing (giving the robot a sharp command in Russian that caused it to freeze in place) and face the door. Natasha raised an eyebrow slightly and broke out into what Pepper was almost positive was an involuntary smile when she met Pepper's gaze, ducking through the cables and moving confidently towards Pepper.

As soon as she was close enough to speak at a normal volume, Natasha said, "Hey. What are you doing down here?"

Pepper smiled slightly and shrugged. "I was looking for you. Everyone else is upstairs acting as though Thanksgiving is the apocalypse."

Natasha laughed, pulling off her gloves. "That's why I'm here and not there."

Pepper glanced around, relishing the silence. "Good plan."

"I thought so." Natasha grinned briefly. "You get a feeling for how close they were to feeding everyone while you were up there?"

Pepper chuckled. "In a normal household I'd say 'soon.' With those guys running it? An hour maybe?"

Natasha nodded. "Kind of what I figured." She was studying Pepper speculatively and the taller woman glanced away after a moment.

Pepper indicated the boxing ring. "So, what were you practicing? And what is that thing?"

Natasha shrugged, glancing back towards the ring. "Nothing in particular. I work out at least once a day. Not necessarily a particular discipline though I can force myself into certain conventions if needed. And that thing is my personal sparring robot courtesy of Tony." She smiled wickedly. "I think it was his way of trying to keep from getting dumped on his ass again."

Pepper smiled ruefully. "Must be useful."

Natasha sobered, gazing absently at the punching bag off to the side. "It can be. Not always sure if it's worth it though."

Pepper frowned and reached out to touch Natasha's arm lightly. "Nat?" The nickname slipped out without conscious thought.

Natasha looked at her suddenly, clearly startled. "What did you call me?"

Pepper blinked. "Um… 'Nat'. Sorry, I won't do it again."

Natasha met her gaze for a long moment before smiling slightly. "No, it's fine." She paused but before Pepper could ask for clarification she continued quietly. "The only other person who has ever called me that is Clint."

"Really?"

Natasha smiled sadly. "Really. Honestly, I tend to insist on 'Tasha' if anyone's going to shorten my name."

"Why?" The question popped out before Pepper could stop it.

Natasha waved towards a bench sitting against the wall. "If we're going to have this conversation, let's sit."

Pepper followed the smaller woman to the bench, frowning in concern. Natasha seemed far more… broken wasn't quite the right word but Pepper couldn't come up with a better one. "Natasha?"

Natasha settled on the bench, leaning against the wall and gazing blankly at the opposite wall. After a long moment she began to speak. "They told me my name was Natalia Alianovna Romanova. I have no idea what my actual birth name is. Maybe that was it; I've never found out for certain. Natalia... became my name." She paused. "When Agent Barton made the choice not to kill me, instead bringing me into SHIELD, I told him my name was Natasha Romanoff. It's a um… diminutive of Natalia. First name I'd ever chosen myself." Natasha dropped her head back against the wall, shifting her gaze to the ceiling.

Pepper wasn't sure what to say but eventually Natasha continued, "Ever since, I've insisted people use 'Tasha' instead of 'Nat' if they're going to try using a nickname." She smiled briefly. "Of course, the only people that even try to use a shortened version of my name are Coulson, Clint, and you. Mostly people just call me 'Natasha' or 'Agent Romanoff' and that's that."

Quietly Pepper commented, "You told me to call you 'Tasha' when you introduced me as yourself instead of Natalie."

Natasha nodded slightly. "I did."

"Why?"

Natasha was silent for several minutes. Pepper had concluded that the other woman wasn't going to answer the question when Natasha spoke quietly, barely audible even in the dead silence of the gym, "I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

Natasha smiled briefly, still gazing at the ceiling though Pepper was certain she wasn't actually seeing it. "I do. I'm just… not sure I should tell you."

Pepper cocked her head slightly, studying her companion in silence for several seconds. "How about we go back to 'Nat' for a moment before addressing that topic further?"

Natasha let out a short laugh. "Sure. There's not much else to tell. 'Nat' is an abbreviation of both names and well, Coulson, Clint, and Fury are the only ones who know my name was Natalia. As much as I had a name before SHIELD." She was silent then added, "And now you. Generally, I prefer to avoid reminders of my training."

"Why let me use it then?"

"You're my friend."

Pepper raised an eyebrow skeptically. "The others are your friends too," she pointed out.

"They are."

"So why me?"

Natasha sighed. "And now we're back to the other question."

"Are we?"

"Yes." Natasha fell silent again.

"Nat?"

Taking a deep breath and still not looking at Pepper, Natasha said, "Because you're you."

"That… doesn't actually tell me anything, you know."

Natasha laughed softly for just a moment. "I know."

Pepper frowned, torn between laughing with Natasha and insisting she clarify.

Suddenly Natasha turned her head, fixing Pepper with an intense look. Pepper gazed back, transfixed by the intensity. Almost sub-vocally she asked, "Natasha?" It felt very much like being a deer caught in the headlights.

Natasha turned, facing Pepper more fully. Pepper sat stock still, certain that whatever happened next was going to change everything. Slowly, Natasha reached up and placed one hand on Pepper's cheek. Her gaze was still locked with Pepper's, searching. Pepper couldn't move, wasn't actually certain she was breathing.

Natasha quirked an eyebrow and Pepper was struck by the sudden uncertainty in her gaze. Unable to form words, Pepper simply watched silently, waiting. Natasha's smile was almost sad as she leaned forward and brushed her lips softly across Pepper's just once.

Quietly she whispered, "That's why."

Before Pepper could even process what had happened, Natasha suddenly let go and stood up, moving rapidly toward the locker room. She said over her shoulder, voice completely devoid of emotion, "Tell the others I won't be at dinner, please."

Pepper blinked, shaking her head rapidly. "What-? Nat!"

Natasha paused. Pepper could see the tension in her shoulders as she asked, "What?"

"Are you seriously going to just walk away after that?" Pepper blurted.

"I am."

"Why?" It wasn't a question, definitely a demand. Pepper stood, taking a few steps towards the other woman.

"Pepper, please…"

"Please what? Go away? Forget this happened? Not very likely, Natasha."

Natasha spun to face her, appearing almost anguished. "Don't."

Pepper stepped closer, moving slowly as if approaching a wild animal. "I'm not going to leave until we both understand what's going on here."

"Why?" The word sounded as if it was ripped from Natasha's chest and Pepper was suddenly struck by the fact that this was the most open she'd ever seen the spy. This was the real Natasha underneath.

Stepping into Natasha's personal space Pepper mimicked Natasha's action from earlier, resting her hand lightly on the other woman's cheek. Locking her gaze with the shorter woman's, she lowered her head, murmuring, "This is why."

Carefully, giving Natasha every opportunity to leave, Pepper pressed her lips to Natasha's lightly then more firmly. Slowly, she slid her hand further back, tunneling her fingers into Natasha's hair and pulling her closer with gentle pressure.

There was no response from Natasha and Pepper started to pull back, feeling like she'd been kicked in the gut, when Natasha's hands came up. Pepper felt the other woman move in, one hand gripping Pepper's bicep lightly while the other very tentatively rested on the side of her face.

Smiling against Natasha's lips, Pepper pulled her closer, tightening her grip and letting her other hand rest lightly on the smaller woman's waist. Natasha's touch firmed and Pepper could feel the answering smile. Pepper let herself get lost in the kiss for a long moment, eyes fluttering closed.

The only sound in the gym for several minutes was the soft click of the heater cycling on and their gradually increasing breathing. Finally Natasha pulled back slightly and Pepper loosened her grip just a little. Opening her eyes, she gazed quietly into the bright green ones only a few inches away. She could feel a smile edging her lips, matched by Natasha.

Tilting her forehead slightly to rest against Natasha's, Pepper murmured, "Did that answer your question?"

Natasha laughed softly, her breath ghosting across Pepper's lips. "It did."

"In a good way?"

"Very." Natasha was silent, her expression turning slightly confused.

"What is it?" Pepper felt a cold dread suddenly seeping into her stomach.

"Nothing important. I… well, I thought you were straight." Natasha gave her a wry grin.

Pepper shrugged slightly with a quiet laugh. The dread dissipated. "Yes, well, so did I. Then you suddenly left for that assignment and I was both furious and depressed that you were gone. Major overreaction. Among other things since then. I just didn't want to admit it. To you or myself."

Natasha blinked. "Oh."

Smiling gently, Pepper shifted her hand so she could brush her thumb lightly across Natasha's cheek. "Yes, oh. Why did you volunteer to be my bodyguard?" Pepper was charmed to see a faint blush spread across the spy's cheeks.

"Because you fascinated me. Pretty much since I first met you at Tony's house. And then I fought reassignment because I… just didn't want to leave."

Pepper blinked in surprise. She pulled her head back slightly, tilting it in question. "You fought reassignment?"

Natasha frowned slightly. "Yes. Fury tried to reassign me at least three times prior to Kelly. By that point he made it a flat order. It was let myself be reassigned or risk losing my assignment anyway by losing my field agent status." Her frown deepened, brow furrowing. "I assumed Kelly told you."

Pepper grimaced, laughing in self-deprecation. "No, she didn't, because I was too stubborn to ask."

"Why didn't you ask me after I got home?"

Pepper smiled, absently brushing a lock of Natasha's hair back before resting her forehead against the other woman's once more. "By that point I just didn't care. I was more concerned with the fact that you were home safe."

Natasha grinned, kissing her lightly and whispering, "Well, I'm grateful for your concern for my safety."

"Always." Pepper chuckled. "Even when you went after Vanko, I was terrified Happy would show up and tell me you'd gotten killed."

Natasha's nose crinkled slightly in amusement. "Vanko didn't have a chance. Especially if he'd actually been there."

"Yes well, beating Happy's ass notwithstanding… I'd never seen you in action before. I had a right to worry."

Natasha smirked. "You still haven't really seen me in action, Ms. Potts."

Pepper arched an eyebrow, lowering her voice, "I look forward to it, Ms. Romanoff."

Natasha's smirk transformed into a wicked grin. She'd just opened her mouth to respond when they both heard the sound of the door opening.

Pepper turned, stepping away slightly so she was more to Natasha's side. Though she dropped the hand that had been resting against the other woman's face, she left the one on Natasha's waist in place. Pepper could feel the tensing of Natasha's muscles beneath her hand. She suppressed a smile as she felt Natasha's hand slide down her arm to rest lightly on her hip.

Darcy poked her head inside the gym, looking between the two curiously. Her face took on a knowing expression but she merely smiled and said, "Food's ready, you two."

Pepper smiled. "Thanks, Darcy. We'll be up in a minute."

Darcy nodded, flashed them both a grin and thumbs up, and then vanished again.

Natasha laughed and leaned against Pepper's side for a moment. "Go on up. I need to shower really fast." The slight tension that Pepper had noticed when Darcy appeared had vanished once more.

"I'll wait."

"You don't have to."

Pepper turned to Natasha and grinned, brushing her lips gently across the other woman's forehead before looking her in the eye. "I'll wait."

Natasha gave her a wry look. "You are far more stubborn than Clint. You're not scared of me at all, are you?"

Pepper laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. Now go. Shower. Before Tony sends a full-on search party instead of just Darcy."

Natasha winked at her, voice taking on a distinctly seductive tone as she murmured, "Yes, Ms. Potts."

Pepper shook her head with a laugh as the spy sashayed into the locker room, very obviously swaying her hips far more than was necessary. Idly, she commented to the empty room, "Well, this should certainly be an interesting relationship." Grinning to herself at the thought, Pepper settled back on the bench to wait for Natasha to reappear.


End file.
